


The Beginning of Everything

by noblecrescent



Series: The Home Saga [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action, Angst, Angst and Feels, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Mystery, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, TARDIS - Freeform, Whovian (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 344,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22426753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noblecrescent/pseuds/noblecrescent
Summary: While hiding from the Family, Martha Jones and the 10th Doctor (currently John Smith) come across a particular woman who does not want anything to do with them. In fact, Martha would go as far as to say that Renata Cartwright hates them, more so the Doctor. After the Family is gone and the Doctor returns, he comes face to face with a woman who wants nothing to do with him…almost as if she knew him. And she outright refuses to travel with him. *First of the Home Saga*
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Original Character(s), Tenth Doctor/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Home Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613935
Comments: 89
Kudos: 62





	1. Hidden

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Hello! Welcome to my 3rd OC/Doctor pairing story. This is the first story of the 'Home' Saga involving my OC Renata and the 10th Doctor. This story will be a rewrite of the last bit of Season 3, all of Season 4 and a few of the specials. This story will also feature Doctor Who comic stories as chapters as well as prominently feature a comic character.
> 
> And because this is a fanfic, I will point out that Gallifrey and its customs have been rewritten to fit the story.
> 
> This OC will look like the actress Marjorie De Sousa with blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

_The console of the TARDIS sparked like crazy, Martha and the Doctor picking themselves off the floor. The Doctor rushed over to Martha and pulled her up, urgently needing to know, "Did they see you?"_

_"I don't know!" Martha cried out, still trying to gather her bearings. She felt like her lungs would explode from all the running they did just to get into the TARDIS._

_"Did they see you?"_

_"I don't know, I was too busy running!"_

_"Martha, it's important - did they see your face?" the Doctor wouldn't desist in asking until he got a sure answer from her._

_"No, they couldn't have!"_

_The Doctor ran around the console, pushing the controls to get them the hell out of there, "Off we go!"_

_Martha came to join him, the Doctor watching the rotor with intent. Suddenly, a beeping sound cut in and symbols appeared on the screen, "Ah!" the Doctor, heavily irritated, grabbed the screen and read it, "They're following us," he returned to the control._

_"How can they do that, you've got a time machine," Martha frowned, wasn't that the point of these things?_

_"Stolen technology, they've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe..." the Doctor paused, knowing what that would mean, " They're never going to stop," he ran a hand through his hair nervously, until an idea popped up, "Unless...I'll have to do it..." he stared at Martha, directly into her eyes, "Martha, you trust me don't you?"_

_"Of course I do," Martha nodded, nearly offended at the question._

_"Cause it all depends on you," he dove under the console._

_"What does, what am I supposed to do?" Martha watched in confusion as he reappeared holding an ornate pocket watch in his hand._

_"Take this watch, 'cause my life depends on it. The watch, Martha- The watch is-"_

John Smith gasped awake, looking around and seeing he was in his room, on his bed, in blue striped pajamas. He sat up, thinking a few moments of his odd dream, and rubbed his eyes. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door and he stood up. "Come in!" he called.

Martha Jones walked in, wearing a maid's uniform and carrying a tray of breakfast. Upon seeing John still in his pajamas, her eyes widened and she promptly turned back, "Pardon me, Mr. Smith, you're not dressed yet. I can come back later-"

"No, it's alright, it's alright. Put it down," he pulled a dressing gown around himself, tying it closed.

Martha walked to a table in the center of the room and set the tray down, her eyes lowered while John watched her thoughtfully, "I was, um... " he then realized he was staring at his maid and shook his head, "Sorry, sorry. Sometimes I have these extraordinary dreams."

"What about, sir?" Martha crossed the room to the window, pulling the curtains open.

"I dream I'm this..." he paused again, looking for the right word that could possibly describe himself, "Adventurer. This...daredevil, a madman. 'The Doctor', I'm called. And last night I dreamt that you were there, as my... companion."

Martha returned to the tray on the table, "A teacher and a housemaid, sir? That's impossible. "

"Ah no, a man from another world, though..."

"Well it can't be true because there's no such thing."

John moved over to the fireplace, looking at the mantle, "This thing..." he picked up his fob watch, "The watch..."

Martha watched in hope...but he set it back on the mantle with a sigh.

"Ah, it's funny how dreams slip away," he turned back to Martha, "But I do remember one thing; it all took place in the future. In the year of our Lord two thousand and seven."

"I can prove that wrong for you sir, here's the morning paper," she handed him the paper, "It's Monday, November tenth, nineteen thirteen, and you're completely human, sir. As human as they come."

"Mmm, that's me; completely human," John smiled.

~0~

"Where are you going, mother?" a small, little girl poked her head into her mother's room.

A young, blonde woman was staring at herself in the mirror, a soft smile on her face when she saw her daughter, "I'm visiting your brother today at the academy."

"Again? Is Sebastian really that much of a momma's boy?" the girl tilted her head, a hint of a teasing smile spreading across her face.

"Lucy, watch your tongue," she snapped, "Now you be good to Elena, understood? I shouldn't be late for lunch."

"Yes, mother," Lucy nodded and disappeared, going off to her nana's room.

The mother took one last look at each other before smiling in satisfaction and heading off to see her son.

~0~

In the school corridor, Martha, along with her friend Jenny, another maid, were on their hands and knees scrubbing the tiled floor. John walked past them, Martha smiling and watching after him, "Morning, sir,."

John slowed down, a bit distracted, "Yes, hi," he disappeared up the stairs.

"Head in the clouds, that one. Don't know why you're so sweet on him," Jenny shook her head with a smile while Martha just watched after John.

"He's just kind to me, that's all. Not everyone's that considerate, what with me being..." Martha pointed to her face, specifically the color of her skin.

"A Londoner?" Jenny smiled.

"Exactly. Good old London town!" Martha laughed.

Two senior students, Baines and Hutchinson, walked past the the two and turned back, "Ah, now then, you two," Baines called, "You're not paid to have fun, are you. Put a little backbone into it."

Jenny and Martha looked at each other, their laughter cut short, "Yes Sir, sorry, Sir," mumbled Jenny.

"You there, what's your name again?" Hutchinson asked Martha.

"Martha, Sir. Martha Jones."

"Tell me then, Jones. With hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?"

The two boys laughed cruelly, Martha narrowing her eyes at the pair.

"Now then, I do hope I heard _wrong_ ," a woman's voice cut short the laughter of the two students.

The students turned around to see a blonde woman standing behind them, even Martha and Jenny taking a peek.

The blonde woman had put her hands on her hips and was giving the two students such a disapproving, motherly look. "You know, I would think this school would take priorities on manners instead of weapons. Your manners are your principles, your core. If you disrespect someone...who does that make you, then? If you are going to be respectable men of this world, then you must know _everyone_ is valuable, _indispensable,_ to one another. Apologize to that woman right now," she nodded over to Martha.

The students glanced at each other before turning to Martha, "We're...sorry," they muttered.

"Good, now go and call Sebastian for me, please. Tell him his mother is here to visit him."

"Yes, ma'am," they muttered and walked away.

The blonde rolled her eyes, sighing and fixing herself, "I do hope they learn their lesson," she spoke, Martha a bit confused if she was talking to _her_ or herself. The blonde looked up, "I apologize. Give them a weapon and suddenly they can stomp around everyone. I don't think so," she wagged a finger and walked up the stairs.

"That woman," Jenny shook her head, "We need woman like that. I tell you what, that's probably why she hasn't remarried anymore, no man likes a woman who speaks against the way of a man."

Martha was still a bit in shock from the blonde woman. She felt those words were...a bit beyond her time...

~0~

"And so he's doing well, then?" the same blonde was asking the headmaster about her son.

"Mrs. Cartwright, he is doing pretty well," the headmaster assured, but then after a moment he reluctantly added, "There is only one teacher who remarks a bit differently about him," the headmaster nodded.

Both of them were walking down the corridor of the second level. Their intention was to find Sebastian seeing that the other two students her mother had ordered to call him hadn't done the job.

"Really? And what seems to be the problem?" Mrs. Cartwright asked, a bit surprised of the news. She had yet to meet a teacher who disfavored her son.

"I wouldn't know how to tell you, honestly. That would be Mr. Smith's department."

"Well, do you mind if I have a word with Mr. Smith, then?"

"Not at all, I do believe he was at the library."

"Ah, yes, well thank you headmaster," Mrs. Cartwright nodded, walking ahead. She left the headmaster behind, intending on finding this Mr. Smith and having a good word with him. However, as she turned into a new hallway she bumped into one of the students. "Sebastian!" she cried in delight at seeing her son.

"Sorry mother," the brunette boy shook his head, "I was a bit excited to know you were coming."

"Oh, so then they did tell you I was here," Mrs. Cartwright took her son into a big hug. "I was thinking that perhaps after the big scolding I gave them they wouldn't listen to me."

"You need to stop doing things like that," Sebastian pulled away, not seeming angry but still not content with the news of his mother's outburst reaching every corner of the school in minimal time.

"Well then your friends need to acquire some manners," Mrs. Cartwright retorted. "But now is not the time to talk about that. I was actually on my way to speak with one of your teachers. It seemed like you haven't pleased him."

Sebastian sighed, knowing which teacher that was, "It's not my fault, mother."

"You earn the grade you work for. Now I'd like to know why this teacher comment differently about you," she pointed.

"But it's not my fault!"

"Sebastian, your choices have consequences. Do not blame your teacher for something _you_ have earned," she turned him around and starting walking with him, "I want to talk to this teacher, know what exactly is going on and how we can intervene."

Sebastian knew there was no getting out of this. So when he saw Mr. Smith coming in their direction, fumbling with a pile of books, he sighed and pointed ahead, "That's him over there, mother."

His mother looked ahead, seeing the man and walking over, "Good morning, Mr. Smith," she greeted, watching him fumble over the top book of his pile.

"Uh yes, hello," he was a bit distracted with the pile, though knowing the voice was unfamiliar to him, "Morning, Miss...uh..."

"Cartwright, em..." she reached for the top book that was falling, accidentally brushing against the other books and making them all just plummet to the floor, "Oh!"

"Ah!" John sighed in exasperation.

"Dear me, I do apologize Mr. Smith!'

"No, it's um... it's quite..." he looked up, a bit surprised of the woman before him, "...alright," he definitely had never seen her before and so that must mean she had to be... "Sebastian Cartwright, is this your mother?" the young boy nodded, "Well...um, hello," John seemed to stutter, the blonde smiling politely, "I'm, um, John, John Smith," he held out his hand.

"Hello..." the blonde reached for his hand, also a bit stunned at the sight of the man, "...I'm Renata, Renata Cartwright."

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Cartwright," he took her hand and kissed the back of it, making Renata fluster at the contact.

In the background, Sebastian rolled his eyes. Great, this was the last thing he needed, his mother and his teacher. As the two looked at each other for several moments, John found her exquisitely beautiful.

Renata Cartwright was rather tall, almost to John's height, her golden blonde hair falling midway her back in soft curls. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown and her cheeks wore a light pink tinge to them.

"Renata is just fine," she took her hand back, "Um, I wanted to talk to you about my son's problem that he apparently has in your class."

"Ah, well, if you'd like to talk about it...we could do it right now, just as soon as I bring these books to my room," he gestured to the big mess she'd caused.

"Allow me to help," she quickly volunteered, "After all, it _is_ my fault," she bent down and the pair started picking them up, each carrying half the weight.

"Mother, can I go now?" Sebastian asked once the two had stood up with the pile of books.

"Yes, be good now," she warned sternly, "I have enough trouble from your sister. I don't need my eldest boy to make ruckus like a toddler."

"Yes, mother," he nodded and went on his way.

"Now then, where were these headed again?" Renata turned to John..

"To my room," he nodded behind him.

"Then off we go," she walked ahead of him.

It only took a couple corridors for them to make a decent conversation with each other.

"So Sebastian is distracted often," John was saying, "He's intelligent, brilliant, very careful...but he gets distracted very easily."

"Yes, I do recall that being a problem last year as well. I promise you, John, I will talk to my boy and I will make him pay attention," Renata assured.

"It's nice to see you take great interest in your son's education," John smiled.

"Well, if I won't, who will?"

"Your husband, I would imagine..."

Renata swallowed, stopping at an alcove of the staircase, turning to an announcement board for a distraction, "Oh look at this, my little Lucy has been speaking about this. It's the annual dance at the village hall tomorrow. It's nothing formal, but rather fun by all accounts."

"I take it you and your husband will be attending?" John watched her face sort of grow in distaste for some reason.

"My husband is dead, John," she informed quietly, "He died many years ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Renata," he shook his head, feeling terrible for bringing up the subject, "Please excuse my imprudence."

"No, it's quite fine. I don't usually talk about it, hardly anyone knows."

"Well, um..." he glanced back at the noticeboard, wanting a quick distraction for her, "...You should really go to the dance."

"I should?" Renata blinked, "I hadn't thought about it."

"Yeah, you're beautiful no doubt," he gestured to her appearance, clearing his throat when he realized what had been said, "You're young, and you seem like a lovely woman. Why wouldn't anyone ask you?:

"Well, it's been ages since I've been to a dance cos no one's asked me," she laughed nervously. "Who wants to ask the widow?"

What was she doing? Was she actually nervous of a _human_? And not a scared nervous but a... _blushing_ , heart beating, nervous? No. That could not happen. _Ever_.

"Well, I should imagine that you would be...um...I mean I never thought you'd be one for... I mean there's no reason why you shouldn't..." John started muzzling, backing away from her, "If you do, you may not...I probably won't, but even if I did then I couldn't...um, I mean maybe we could...um..."

"John, the stairs," Renata turned to him, eyes slightly wide in alarm.

"It - what about them?" he continued backing up.

"Well they're right behind you..."

John turned to see the stairs and overbalanced, falling backwards. Renata dropped her books and hurried to see...but the man was already on the floor with all the books sprawled everywhere.

"Oh dear..." she made a face.

Had _she_ caused this?

~0~

Renata entered John's room holding Matron Joan's medical bag. Joan was cleaning a cut on the back of the man's head, John groaning against the pain.

Renata chuckled, "My little Lucy causes less trouble than you, and she's eight!"

"Because it _hurts_!" he pouted sulkily.

Renata shook her head and handed the bag over to Matron Joan, "Here you go. And thank you for coming."

Matron Joan and Renata were very good friends, even before John Smith had arrived. Renata was also learning the ways to become a nurse and Joan was more than glad to help her along the way.

The door to the room opened and Martha burst in, "Is he alright?"

"Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking," Joan scolded.

Martha, heavily annoyed, walked back to the door and simply knocked twice, "Better?" she raised an eyebrow and returned, "Is he alright?" she looked at John, "They said you fell down the stairs, Sir."

Renata watched Martha carefully, picking up some extra care in the woman's eyes.

"No, it was just a tumble, that's all," John mumbled.

"Have you checked for concussion?" Martha asked Joan.

Renata was now fairly intrigued by the woman's knowledge.

"I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you," Joan snapped.

Martha remembered she wasn't supposed to know anything about medicine and nodded, "Sorry. I'll just..." she looked at the Doctor, "...tidy your things."

Renata glanced between Martha and Joan, "Well, no need to be tensed...either of you. If you're just trying to help, I mean..."

Joan shook her head, not understanding how Renata could defend the maid. But that was just like her. She would defend anyone or help anyone that needed her.

"John, are you sure you're okay?" Renata bent down in front of him, still mighty guilty she had been the reason he had fallen down the stairs.

"Physically, yes," John nodded, seeing the confusion stir in her eyes, "I was telling Nurse Redfern- Matron, um, about my dreams. They are quite remarkable tales."

"Have they been interrupting your sleep?" she asked, her own recurring dreams, more like _nightmares_ than anything, flashing through her head.

"No, well...they're a bit strange, but...not _bad_."

Meanwhile, Martha looked at the trio, hearing John explain to the women about his 'dreams'. She didn't think it was a good idea to disclose anything about the Doctor to these humans...but it's not like she could stop them, right?

"I keep imagining that I'm someone else, and that I'm hiding..."

"Hiding? In what way?" Joan asked, a bit interested herself.

"Um... er... almost every night..." John laughed, "This is going to sound silly..."

"Then tell us," Renata smiled, in the mood for something that could make her smile and forget.

"I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts."

Renata's smile faded.

"Well then, I can be the judge of that," Joan reached into her doctor's bag and took out a stethoscope.

Renata stood up and backed away, watching with great intent as Joan placed the stethoscope against John's chest. Upon hearing one heartbeat, Joan moved it to his left side and heard nothing.

"I can confirm the diagnosis- just one heart, singular."

Renata looked around the room, as if searching for something.

"I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction... um... not that it would be of any interest...to either of you," John cast a look to Renata, a bit more interested for _her_ to hear.

"I'd be very interested..." Joan spoke up first, smiling as she noticed the man's gaze on her friend behind, "...and I'm sure Renata would love to hear as well."

At the mention of her name, Renata's eyes snapped back to the pair, startled to see John just staring at her, "Oh, um...sure, yes..." she watched John beam and move to his desk, Martha noticing the woman's gaze had changed and liked like she was... _studying_?

"Well... I've never shown it to anyone before," John returned with a black leather bound journal in his hands.

Renata slowly took it from him, studying the handwritten title on the first page, "'Journal of Impossible Things'" she turned the first couple of pages, Joan moving beside her as they both took in its contents.

Martha saw the immediate different reactions from both women. Matron Joan looked in deep awe, her eyes scanning every last detail on the pages. Renata, on the other hand, had gone pale. Her eyes were wide, filled with what one would call _horror_. Her eyes slowly looked from one sketch to another, widening more and more.

"Just look at these creatures!" Joan chuckled, turning the page to reveal a Dalek sketch in ink.

Renata nearly dropped the book at the sight, swallowing hard as she handed it to Joan, "Sorry...um, I-I just...I can't," she made a break for the door.

"Renata!" John swiftjy caught up, holding onto her arm and gently turning her around, "Are you okay? Have I frightened you?"

Renata breathed heavily, "Who are you?" she whispered. Neither noticed Martha stepping up, on high alarm. Had they been caught?

"I'm...I'm John," he smiled awkwardly, "Are you sure you don't want to have a seat? You seem rather pale."

Her eyes flickered from him to Joan, who was also looking in concern. Renata figured if she wanted to know, know the identity of this false man, she had to stay and read the journal. She nodded and allowed John to bring her over to the couch, sitting her down with caution.

"I must say, John, your imagination is quite vast," Joan moved over to the pair, showing the journal to Renata in hopes she could help her blonde friend. It was just like Renata to drive away any man that showed the least bit of interest in her.

Renata took another look at the pages, hoping to God she had seen wrong the first time. But as she passed the pages, she saw familiar creatures. Her breathing struggled to maintain itself at a normal rate. There were Autons sketched over, the Moxx of Balhoon, and clockwork robots.

"It's wonderful," she whispered, turning the page to see a sketch of Rose Tyler's face, "And quite an eye for the pretty girls."

"Oh no no, she's just an invention. This character, Rose, I call her, Rose," John quickly said, feeling compelled to clarify he didn't know the woman and most certainly didn't want anything to do with her, "Seems to disappear later on..."

Renata's breath hitched as she turned to the next page. There were Cybermen...a sketch of a TARDIS.

"Ah, that's the box, the blue box, it's always there," John pointed to the blue box, "Like a...like a magic carpet, this funny little box that transports me to far away places."

"Like a doorway?" tried Joan.

"Mmm..."

Renata, again, turned the page and with rather haste. She found different faces, ten different faces...

"I sometimes think how magical life would be if things like this were true," John said, distracted as he looked from one face to another.

"If only," Joan chuckled.

"It's just a dream."

"Just a dream..." Renata whispered, turning the next page and finding...a fob watch.

~0~

Renata and Matron Joan walked out of John's room, Renata holding a tight grip on John's journal. She had asked him if she could borrow the journal and keep reading. She _had_ to know who he was...

"Ma'am! That book-" Martha Jones ran after the pair.

"Oh I'll look after it, don't worry. He did say I could read it," Renata turned around, now looking at Martha with distrust.

"But it's silly, that's all," Martha insisted, nervously smiling, "Just stories."

"Then I am sure it will be interesting to read," Joan said, trying to usher Renata to walk.

"Who is he, Martha?" Renata suddenly asked, her eyes narrowing as Martha nearly stumbled back from the question.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, noticing the change in Renata's tone and posture. The woman seemed soft at first, warn and kind. Now she was cold, her eyes searching Martha endlessly for an answer. She seemed almost...threatening.

"Joan, could you go on ahead without me?" Renata asked, glancing at her friend, "We'll go and have that tea."

Joan nodded and walked off, Martha cautiously stepping back. Renata awaited the appropriate time to speak again, wanting no one to hear her.

"Your name was Martha, right?"

"Martha Jones, ma'am," Martha nodded.

"Martha Jones," Renata tested the name out, "Let me see if I remember correctly, according to Sebastian and Joan, Mr. Smith arrived two months ago with _you_?".

"He found me employment here at the school...I used to work for the family, he just sort of inherited me," Martha felt like she had suddenly been thrown into an interrogation room.

"Well see, here's the thing that intrigues me about _you_..."

"Me?" Martha pointed to herself in confusion.

"All the maids here never speak up like you do. They keep their heads down and serve their masters and mistresses with respect and distance. But you...you sometimes seem a little familiar with him. All this leads me to one question, one question that I will find out through this journal," Renata glanced at the journal in her hands, Martha looking at it vaguely, " _Or_...through your lips," Renata looked up at her, the same coldness bathing her eyes, "Who is he, Martha?"

Martha tensed, "Well, who are _you_?"

"I'm Renata Cartwright, and you?" Renata waited, or rather gave a chance for Martha to speak up. Unfortunately, Martha did nothing but stare silently. "You are not from here, that easily I can tell. So then, who is John Smith?" but Martha stepped back again, remaining silent. Renata took it as a declaration of war, sensing Martha's outright refusal to answer, "Listen here, Martha Jones, if either you or 'John Smith' try anything to hurt my son, my daughter, my friends..." Renata stepped closer to Martha, utterly harsh, "...you will get to know just who _I_ really am."

Martha swallowed, no clue of what to do next. Renata backed away and turned, walking off with satisfaction that her message got through.

She had lost everything once...she would not lose the little she had managed to build for herself.

~0~

It was dark out by the time Renata had finished reading John Smith's journal. She sat by the couch, in front of the window, and looked up. She let out a shaky breath, her hands closing the journal. It was him...it was... _him_.

"You have _got_ to go," she whispered, her eyes threatening to spill with tears.

~0~

Outside the village pub, Martha and Jenny sat at a small round table with their drinks.

"Ooh, it's freezing out here! Why can't we have a drink inside the pub?" Martha complained as she drank out of her pint.

"Now don't be ridiculous - you do get these notions! It's all very well those Suffragettes; but that's London, that's miles away," Jenny waved her off.

"But don't you want to scream sometimes, having to bow and scrape and behave, don't you just wanna tell them?"

"I dunno. Things must be different in your country."

"Yeah, well they are. Thank God I'm not staying," Martha made a face and looked away for a moment.

"You keep saying that..."

"Just you wait. One more month and I'm as free as the wind," Martha dreamed of the day the Doctor would return and take her away again. "I wish you could come with me, Jenny - you'd love it!"

"Where are you gonna go?"

"Anywhere, hopefully soon," Martha swallowed, thinking of today's account.

Renata Cartwright had practically declared herself an enemy of the Doctor and hers. She wanted to leave as quick as possible and could only hope Renata wouldn't do anything in the last month they needed to remain in hiding.

Martha looked up to the sky, sighing, "That's where I'm going. Into the sky, all the way out."

Jenny laughed at the notions of her friend, but Martha remained gazed up at the sky. Suddenly, Martha saw a green light flares across the sky, disappearing after a corner second or two.

"Did you see that?" Martha sat up, her gaze stuck on the sky.

"See what?" Jenny barely looked up, seeing nothing but stars.

"Did you see it though?" Martha stood up, her heart beating faster. Could this be one of Renata's tactics against the Doctor and her? "Right up there, just for a second."

"Martha, there's nothing there," Jenny stood up as well, but Martha remained unconvinced.

"You!" Renata Cartwright suddenly appeared, storming towards Martha and Jenny, her finger pointed violently at Martha.

Martha stumbled back, Renata going straight for her, "What's wrong, miss?"

"I'm only going to tell you this _once_ ," Renata stopped right in front of her, her eyes nearly gobbling Martha up with anger, "You and your Doctor need to get the hell out of here!"

Martha blinked rapidly, her mind racing to figure out how to calm the woman, "Um, M-Miss Cartwright, you-"

"GET OUT!" Renata screamed, Martha flinching greatly.

"Miss Cartwright," Jenny stood, completely alarmed.

"Go home, Jenny," Renata instructed, not even turning to see how afraid the woman was of her at the moment. She was focused on Martha, and 'the Doctor'.

"I guess you know everything now, but...I just gotta ask... _how_?" Martha blinked, completely confused.

Even if she had read the whole journal, how could she know who the Doctor was? How could she think, for one moment, that the Doctor was _real_? Why would a human, besides Martha herself, in the year 1913 ever believe that there was a man of another universe, with two hearts and a blue box?

" _That_ is _none_ of your business!" Renata gritted her teeth, "You will listen to me and get out! Get out of 1913, because this...this is _my_ time! This is _my_ home, now and you will _not_ ruin this!" her voice faulted and her eyes began watering up.

At that moment, John Smith emerged from the pub, a hat in his hand. He smiled when he saw the presence of Renata Cartwright and joined them, "Renata, how are you-" he reached for her arm when she jerked it away from him.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, stepping back from him and Martha.

John frowned, "Um...is everything alright?"

"You and her need to leave!" Renata exclaimed, confusing him even more, "You need to get your things and-"

'There!" Martha suddenly pointed to the sky again, everyone looking up to see the same green light fly over like a shooting star.

Renata immediately quieted down at the sight, something was wrong...something _would_ be very wrong.

"That's beautiful," Jenny remarked.

"There...orgom. Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all..." John explained, but sounded distracted as he was cautiously looking at Renata. She seemed so out of place at the moment, so angry...but why?

"That came down in the woods," Renata whispered, still heard by the others.

"No, no no, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder," the Doctor stepped over to her side, "Would you like me to escort you home?"

"No," she crossed her arms and stepped away from him.

He couldn't take that kind of attitude, it actually... _hurt_ him. That was weird, in all the time he could remember he never felt so hurt because a woman refused to let him touch her arm.

"I have my children to attend do," Renata studied the man, figuring if he was the Doctor he didn't know at the time. He had used the fob watch and made himself human. She cast a look at Martha, nodding to the place where the light had seemingly fallen too, Martha confused for a second until she realized Renata wanted to go see what it was...with _her_.

"Jenny, where was that? On the horizon, where the light was headed," Martha asked, her look still on Renata.

"That's by Cooper's Field," Jenny replied.

"I shall bid goodnight," Renata muttered and walked away, leaving John to stare after her.

~0~

"Who are you!?" demanded Renata as she and Martha ran through the woods, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in 1913!?"

"Me!? Who are _you_!?" Martha exclaimed, over her fear of Renata, seeing as she wasn't responsible for the green light, "How can you possibly think the Doctor is real? No human, especially in 1913, would accept that so easily!"

"That is none of our concern! I want you and the Doctor out of here, NOW!"

"Oh and what are we gonna do about the green light, hmm?"

"We? There is no ' _we_ ' in this. For all I know, you could be responsible for this!" Renata huffed and looked to the side. She didn't actually mean those words of hers, as she remembered the man was a complete madman, even as young, but he would never intentionally hurt someone else.

"If you thought that, then we wouldn't be running together to go see what it was," Martha countering, noticing Renata's sudden silence.

They stopped at the head of the clearing, nothing in sight...

"That was strange, then," Renata took a step forwards, "Nothing there..."

"And that's Cooper's Field?" Martha asked, unsure herself there was nothing there.

"But there was a light...and it _did_ fall..."

Martha turned around, calm and serious, "Miss Cartwright, the Doctor and I mean no harm. I promise you. But we can't leave...not right now."

"I need you to leave," Renata insisted, respecting Martha for the calm attitude she was taking despite the rude way she herself took upon Martha, "And I say that with respect. I don't want you here, especially the Doctor. Just...just go and leave, please."

"Do you know him?" she frowned, had the Doctor left yet _another_ woman after his trail like Rose?

Renata's eyes faltered and for a brief minute she looked down, "...no," Martha eyed her curiously, unsure of her answer, "But I know what he is. He took the fob watch, didn't he?" Martha blinked at the knowledge Renata had, "Yes, he did, didn't he?" Renata shook her head, "What's he running from? Because I doubt he ran from what I ran...he wouldn't have had a human with him."

Martha saw no point in hiding anymore, Renata knew and if she herself wasn't human then she would need to get Renata on their side...so she wouldn't hurt the Doctor, "...there was this Family..." Martha began, "...they wanted the Doctor cos he can live past one life cycle..." Renata nodded, awfully calm, "...but the Doctor said that the lifespan of the Family was limited so if he turned human and we waited for three months, the Family would just die out and he could open the watch after...but he doesn't know he's the Doctor, John Smith believes he's John Smith."

"So you're not here... _searching_...?"

"Why would we be searching?" Martha frowned, confused as Renata shifted on her feet.

"No reason," Renata cleared her throat, putting her hands on her hips as she thought, "Alright, tell you what, then...I'll keep my mouth shut about all this. And in return, neither you nor 'the Doctor', or John Smith, shall make contact with me or my children. John Smith will only teach Sebastian."

"Yeah, sure," Martha quickly nodded, "And...and you?"

"What about me?"

"You...won't try anything?"

Renata scoffed, "The last thing I wanna do is draw attention to myself or my children. Goodnight, Martha Jones. Sincerely, I wish you and the Doctor can get out of here like you plan."

Martha nodded, watching silently as Renata left. Renata wasn't human, that much she knew. What could she be doing here? Why was she so keen on getting her and the Doctor out of 1913 to leave her...? Why?

~0~

"Mum! Mum, can I get the door?" little Lucy Cartwright trailed after her mother, both of them hearing several knocks on the door to their house.

"No, Lucy, it's far too dangerous," Renata replied calmly, rolling her eyes at her daughter's groan. After the mysterious light of last night, she was going to take extra precaution with her children. She would not lose them too. She opened the door up, genuinely surprised to find John Smith on the other side, "John?" was all she could say.

"Renata, hello...um," the Doctor looked down to the small child behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Renata asked, setting a hand on Lucy's shoulder who only poked her head around her mother's side.

"Uh..." if he had to be honest, he didn't know what he was doing there either. He had allowed Martha to go into the village for some free time and somehow he decided to go to Renata's house. After last night, he just needed to make sure she was alright...not angry anymore. So he asked Martha to pinpoint the blonde's house, excusing it as a simple teacher intervention concerning Sebastian.

"Aren't you Sebastian's teacher?" Lucy broke the silence that fell over the adults, finally coming around her mother, "Is he a bad student? I think he is. He never listens!"

The Doctor smiled at the little girl, he always did have a soft sport for children, "He's very hardworking."

Lucy scoffed, "Yeah right!"

"Uh, Lucy, go with Elena, yeah?" Renata pushed the girl behind her, over to a door on the fa right of the house.

"But muuuum..."

"No, go," Renata pushed her off, the girl huffing and making her way to her nana's room.

"She seems lovely," the Doctor remarked, still awkwardly standing on the front door.

"Yeah, yeah," Renata sighed, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were alright...truthfully, last night, you alarmed me..."

"Yes, I'm fine, you can go now," she tried closing the door but John placed a hand between and stopped her.

"Can we please talk?"

"Please," Renata closed her eyes for a moment as she gathered her self and courage, "There's nothing to be talked about. It'd be best if you just go. You partly came for the journal, right?"

"No, no..."

"Do you want it back now? I finished it," she left the door and walked over to the kitchen table where the journal was placed on, "Very nice imagination."

"Renata, have I done something wrong?" the Doctor sighed, really disliking the coldness he was receiving from her. It _hurt_.

"No, everything's fine. I just have some things to do. I was going to to the village in the afternoon and I want to finish my work around the house, first. So, please just...go back to the school..." she handed him back the journal, "I think you should allow Joan to read it. She seemed fascinated by it as well."

"Sure..." John looked at his journal for a second before looking up to Renata's deep, chocolate brown eyes. He smiled warmly, despite Renata's odd attitude with him, those pair remained as warm and loving as ever.

"I must get to work, John," Renata snapped him out of his thoughts, "Please say hello to my son for me."

"Yeah," John nodded, nearly forcing himself to turn away and walk. He didn't know why but he just want to spend some time with the blonde, talk to her...but it actually hurt him that she rejected him.

Renata watched the man walk away, heaving an unexpected sigh. She caught it and shook her head, "What am I doing..." she shook her head again and closed the door, turning around to see Elena, the nana of her daughter and closest friend of hers.

"Well, who was that?" the black-haired woman crossed her arms, a playful smirk on her face.

Elena was middle-aged and also a widow. Her hair was black and fell down her shoulders. Her eyes were a shade of light hazel, her cheekbones a bit pronounced. She lived with Renata and Lucy, and at a time Sebastian, after her husband died. She helped Renata take care of the house and the children, and even handled her own job down at the village. Overall, she was someone Renata trusted above anyone in town... _almost_ with everything.

"Sebastian's teacher," Renata shrugged and walked away.

"And what's he doing over here?" Elena trailed after her.

"Just visiting."

"Why would a teacher visit a student's single, widowed mother? Hmmm..." Elena smirked again.

Renata rolled her eyes, this was the last thing she needed, "Can you go call Lucy? I need help to finish around the house. I have a lot of errands to do in the village."

Elena rolled her eyes, knowing how this would go. There was a nice man who showed interest in Renata, Renata pushed them away in the coldest way possible until the poor man resigned himself and let her go. Then Renata would resume her lonely life, caring only for her children.

That's _always_ how it went.

~0~

The students were lined up in a column, doing target practice directed by John Smith. The headmaster overlooked as well, but from a distance. One of the students seemed to have gotten distracted and caused the partner to get into a state.

"There's a stoppage, immediate action," the angry student, Hutchinson, growled. "Didn't I tell you, sir, this stupid boy is useless!" he regarded over the slightly smaller student beside him. "Permission to give Latimer a beating, Sir?"

"It's your class, Mr Smith," the headmaster gave a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"Permission granted," John said without a second thought.

"Right, come with me, you little oiyk," Hutchinson grabbed Timothy by the wrist and yanked him up to his feet. The rest of the boys followed to 'help'. Baines, one of the few students to remain, took a long sniff and rather loudly.

"Anything the matter, Baines?" John looked him over, concerned for the boy.

"I thought... No sir. Nothing, sir," Baines turned on his feet and went to join the rest of the boys.

"As you were, Mr. Smith," the headmaster said before leaving.

"Ah... Pemberton, Smythe, Wicks, take post," John instructed, three more boys taking the positions.

By chance, John glanced about and spotted Matron Joan watching the gunshots. He bit his lip, thinking of Renata and her odd attitude. Joan and her seemed like good friends, perhaps _she_ could help him...

Then he shook his head, was he really going through all this trouble for a women he barely knew?

Apparently, the answer was _yes_ , because he found himself walking over to Joan.

"Ah, Nurse Redfern," he greeted politely, the woman nodding her greet, "Do you mind...if we talked?"

"About?" though Joan could already half guess the topic of their conversation.

"Your lovely friend, Renata Cartwright."

"Ah, what seems to be the problem?" she had to struggle to keep her smirk hidden. It was quite easy to see John had taken a liking to the blonde.

"I honestly don't know..." John sighed, "...she seems, alarmed. Like she's afraid of something. But I fear she may be upset with me."

"I'm sure you are imagining things, Mr. Smith," though when Joan got to thinking of the way Renata spoke to Martha, she did have to concede on the fact Renata was being a bit odd.

"I stopped by her home, tried to see if maybe I could apologize for whatever it was that I had done..." John blushed as he admitted his bold move, but he felt like he just had to go see Renata.

"And what happened?"

"She handed me my journal and sent me on my way."

"Mr. Smith, Renata hasn't had an easy life. She's an orphan, no parents nor siblings. They all died in some tragic accident. She married and became a widow with two children. Her suitors are limited as she tends to see to her children. Her friends are also very limited because of the bit of fear women have for her."

"Fear? How could they be afraid of such an innocent woman?"

Joan smiled softly, seeing John truly had a genuine affection for Renata, "Renata is quite beautiful, Mr. Smith," she watched his eyes drift to the side, probably thinking of the blonde at the moment, "Any man who's single tends to have a liking for her. The women all believe Renata is the, um...alpha woman," she chuckled to herself, "They fear of the top woman."

"Joan, can I call you Joan?" John asked, hoping to garner the woman's trust. Joan nodded, "Do you think you could help me? I would really like to talk to Renata. I heard she was going to the village later in the afternoon...do you think you could help me find her?"

"Of course," she smiled, "I was also headed for the village, perhaps you could accompany me and I could help find Renata."

"Thank you," John nodded fast, making Joan chuckle at his excitement, "Really, thank you!"

He would talk to Renata again and hopefully make amends for whatever he had done. He didn't know why but he had to continue seeing her, talking to her...he _needed_ to.

~0~

"Mum, can I have a balloon?" Lucy asked her mother as the two walked down a street of the village.

"No, Lucy, what's the point?" Renata sighed, currently holding Lucy's hand while another held fruit for their dinner.

"But please? Mr. Lodge won't mind," Lucy gestured to the elderly man of the bakery shop, a few red balloons strung up front.

Renata sighed, knowing if she didn't abide Lucy would not let it go for quite some time, "Oh alright, but you ask nicely," Lucy nodded and scurried off to go get that red balloon. Renata sighed and looked down at her bag, noticing a few fruit were missing, "That's odd, I thought I bought apples..." she continued walking meanwhile she focused on counting the fruit in her bag.

In another part of the village, John Smith and Joan were walking together, both looking for Renata.

"Just search for a little girl and you'll find Renata," Joan was saying.

"I don't see any children, mind you, although..." John stopped walking at a glimpse of blonde. He leaned forwards, carefully focusing and realizing it was her! She was looking through a bag of some sorts, walking towards a shop building where two men were winching up a piano with a rope...the rope sling currently breaking...

"Where is she?" Joan searched, but John had become distracted, his eyes flickering from Renata to the piano and rope.

Renata was looking through her bag, mumbling to herself whether or not Lucy had snuck an orange or two when she hadn't been looking.

"No!" John snapped from his trance, snatching a cricket ball from a young boy near them and pitching it a bundle of spare scaffolding poles outside the ironmongers. The pole fell and hit a plank of wood with a brick on the end, making the brick fly up to the air over the piano just as the rope snapped and started hurtling towards the ground. The brick hit a milk churn on a cart and sent it falling into the path of Renata.

"What!?" Renata yelped as her feet hit the blocker and fell over, landing head-straight on the ground...the piano just barely missing her as it fell to the ground.

"Renata!" John quickly ran down the hill, Joan hurrying after. When they got near Renata, the two workers were currently trying to help her, but the woman was unconscious.

"Mummy?" Lucy poked her head out from the corner, gasping when she saw Renata on the floor, "Mummy!" she scurried over, on the brink of tears as her mother didn't seem to be waking up.

"It's okay, sweetie, it's okay," Joan took the crying girl into her arms.

John turned Renata's head to face her, the woman still unconscious, "Renata? Renata, wake up!"

"She's bleeding, John," Joan nodded to the top of Renata's head, her blonde hair tainted with a brilliant red, "I can help her, but we need to get to the school. The doctor of the town is away!"

John scooped Renata into his arms, hurriedly heading for the school, Joan following with a crying Lucy at her side.

~0~

"Is she going to be alright?" Lucy asked, her mother still unconscious as Matron Joan cleared up the cut on her head.

Renata was currently in the school's infirmary, Matron Joan working on her while John and Lucy awaited on the sides. Martha walked in, holding a tray of tea for the adults, a small plate of pieces of fruit for little Lucy. She wasn't on the best terms with Renata, but she didn't want her to be hurt either.

"Here you are," Martha set the tray on a small table.

"Are those peaches?" Lucy sniffled, turning to the table, "I like peaches."

Martha smiled, stepping back and allowing the girl to take some, "Go ahead."

"Well, she seems fine," Joan gave her declaration, "But I think we should give her some medication for the head?" she suggested, John immediately nodding. "We'll need to go back into town."

"And on the way, we could drop by Lucy," John glanced at the girl, "I think there was a nana, or someone that could care for her."

"Come around, Lucy," Joan said, gesturing for the girl to follow them.

"Martha, I trust you will watch over Miss Cartwright?" John asked.

Martha nodded, "Of course."

The trio left and Martha heaved a sigh as she moved beside the blonde. She looked around and found the medical bag of Matron Joan. She bit her lip, she really shouldn't...but this _was_ a person in need of a doctor...and she _had_ the obligation to help anyone in need. She picked up a stethoscope inside and put it on, glancing one more time at the doors in case anyone walked in. When she felt confident enough, she placed the stethoscope on Renata's chest, hearing a healthy heartbeat...

...and then she heard more.

With a confused expression, Martha moved the stethoscope to Renata's left side of her chest...

...there was a _second_ heartbeat.

Martha's eyes widened, moving the stethoscope again in case she was imagining it.

There was still another set of heartbeats.

 _Two_.

Martha removed the stethoscope and stared at Renata in utter shock. That's when she noticed Renata was wearing a long necklace hanging to her stomach. It was in the shape of a light green crystal...

~0~

Renata groaned as she came back to life, her eyes slowly opening, "What...what's going on..."

John, who at the last moment preferred to remain in the infirmary room with Renata - deciding Joan could return Lucy home and find the medication afterwards - set down his journal with pen on a table nearby and stood up fast, "It's okay, it's okay," he set a hand on Renata's arm, "Don't try to move so fast."

"What happened?" Renata shut her eyes at the sharp throb she felt on her head.

"You had an accident at the village. Matron Joan and I brought you back to the school."

"Did she check my heartbeat?" Renata immediately sat up.

"Um, no, the injury was on your head," John quickly answered, alarmed something felt wrong in her heart.

"Oh," Renata put a hand on her head and winced, "Yes, I see. And Lucy?" alarmed, she tried getting off the bed too fast and became dizzy.

Before her legs gave out, John caught her by the waist, "Gotcha. And don't worry about Lucy or Sebastian, it's all been taken care of. You just take it easy," he smiled softly at her.

For a moment, Renata met his eyes and felt herself blush at their closeness. When she caught herself, she shook her head and sat back on the bed, swatting away John's hands, "I'm fine, I'm fine," she assured and looked away. She noticed the John's open journal and caught a glimpse of a sketch, "What were you doing?" she grew curious.

"Hm?" John caught her gaze on his journal and stiffened, "Oh, um...I was sort of...well you see..."

Renata gave him a look before reaching over for the journal, unaware of the bright blush John suddenly sported. Renata took a look at the sketch, her eyes half-widening, "Oh..." she started to smile, "...you drew _me_ , it's nice," she looked up at the Doctor, surprising the man how her attitude changed once more.

"Thank you," he let a smile escape his lips. He moved closer to her to see his sketch of her on his journal, "I thought it may serve to help your anger with me...perhaps lower it..."

Renata's smile faded at those words, feeling shame for making him feel at fault of something he probably couldn't even remember. But even if he was himself, he probably would've said it hadn't been completely his fault either and that _she_ was also to blame. Renata looked at him and sighed, "I'm not angry, John. I just don't think we should talk to each other..."

"But why?" John frowned, actually feeling his heart ping at her hurtful words, "What have I done? Tell me so I know how to fix it."

Renata let the journal fall to her lap as she looked at him again, "You've not done anything-"

"Then why do you treat me like this? The first time we met, we talked like friends, normal...happy," he looked down, "...now you barely even want to direct a word to me."

Without thinking, Renata reached to touch his cheek, making him flinch at the contact, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "This is all just...too...new," she supplied the word for 'difficult'. She figured for the human version of the Doctor she had in front of her she could downplay the entire situation.

"New?" John raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit of hope all of a sudden.

If all this arose out of things being too 'new' then it meant he hadn't done anything to anger her. It was simply because she was widowed and thought something between him and her was new for her, seeing as Joan had said that Renata had never actually paid attention to any man's feelings. Now, he didn't know what exactly was going on with him concerning Renata but all he knew was that he didn't want her to be angry with him. He wanted her to be close, to be...with him.

Renata swallowed and nodded, letting him believe it, "I'm not...I'm not used to any of this, so...I'd rather not get further into it."

"Why not? Why don't you let us get to know each other, hmm?" John took her hand from his face and gave it a kiss, stunning Renata and making her blush, "How about you accompany me to the village dance this evening as my guest?" Renata's eyes widened at the proposal, "We can talk, we can get to know each other...?"

Renata looked at their hands that were still interlocked, "I don't..."

"Give me this one opportunity, yeah?" John insisted, even surprising himself on how big his determination was to get the woman to let them be friends.

"She accepts!" a different voice spoke from the doorway, the pair looking over to see Matron Joan standing with a cheery smile, "Renata most definitely accepts, John," she hurried on up.

"I...but I didn't," Renata began to say but Joan had other ideas.

"She's been talking nonstop of that dance," Joan continued, putting down the bag of medicine she brought back from the town. "I can guarantee she'll be more than happy to accompany you."

"Really?" John looked at Renata with so much hope it made Renata feel like she'd be a monster for saying no.

"Sure," she finally said, her voice a whisper.

John smiled from ear to ear, feeling like his heart was about to burst within his chest, and though that was something new he didn't pay attention to it because Renata had accepted his invitation, "Great, very, very great," he reached for Renata's hand and kissed its back, "Tonight, then..."

"I'll drop her off with you," Joan offered, nearly giving herself her own applause at what she managed to do. Renata had never accepted any sort of invitation from a man, not even a simple conversation! Now she had made Renata accept an invitation for a dance with a man who genuinely seem to like her.

"You will?" Renata looked at her for that one, she'd like to see her children first.

"Of course," Joan laughed, "How's about seven, John?"

"Perfect," he nodded as he looked at Renata, "Is that alright with you?"

She sighed and nodded, "Yeah," there was no way back from that one anymore. She'd have to go with it and hopefully not get into trouble this one time...

~ 0 ~

Martha Jones was inside the TARDIS, frantically going through the Doctor's pre-recorded video he'd left for her before turning human. He left her all sorts of messages and warnings, ridiculous things as was his style. She kept searching and searching through the video, hoping there was one bit she had perhaps missed about...women.

But in the end, she came up with nothing and stopped the video, heaving a heavy sigh, "This is no good. What about the stuff you didn't tell me, what about women? Oh no, you didn't think of that. What in hell am I supposed to do then? Huh?" she paused and took a long breath, "Another Time Lord...bet you didn't think of that one, hm?" she frowned, "Another Time Lord hiding in the 1913...what am I supposed to do now?"

The near shut-down TARDIS gave a hum that Martha guessed was a cheerful one...for a box, anyways. She looked around, "What do I do?" she called, expecting some sort of sign from the box. She knew the Doctor had put it on some sort of emergency setting, the box was still powered on but no real abilities were in its reach at the moment, "What do I do? Do I...bring her here? Do I tell the Doctor about this...granted, by the way he's taken a liking to her I think he'll figure it out pretty soon," she muttered, not too pleased with that fact. Of course, out of all the women the Doctor could've fallen for he had to go and find a miracle, another Time Lord, to be with.

Question was, though, why did Renata want them to leave _without_ her?

~ 0 ~

"I cannot believe you're making me do this," Renata huffed as Joan went through her wardrobe inside her room.

"Oh do calm down, it's not the end of the world," Joan absently remarked while she pulled out a dress, checking Renata to see if it would fit.

Joan had brought Renata to her room in order to get ready for the dance that night. Joan knew that if she let Renata out of her sight the blonde could possibly break things in the form of an excuse like a head ache or something.

"I should be with my children," Renata stood up from the chair she had been sitting in.

"I brought Sebastian back to the house with Elena to look after Lucy," Joan reminded, "I assured all three that you would be fine but that you would be a bit late for supper tonight."

"This isn't right," Renata shook her head, catching a glimpse of the new dress Joan had taken out.

"And why not?" Joan turned around, holding her dress out for Renata to check.

Renata eyed the dark purple dress with a sigh, "I can't..."

"I understand, believe me, I'm also widowed, remember?" Joan went to set the dress on her bed, "It's hard to get over your husband's death, but it's been years for you now."

"It's been some time for you too you know," Renata crossed her arms.

"Yes, but I'm not the one avoiding nearly every man that walks in your direction," Joan countered, "I think it's about time you took a chance."

"A chance," Renata quietly repeated, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, turning away from Joan as she thought of the last time she was told to take a 'chance', "I'm not good with chances..."

"Then let me help," Joan reached for Renata's hand and brought her to the dress she had picked out for the blonde, "This can be a very lovely night for you. John seems very nice, a bit distant and distracted sometimes but nonetheless harmless. Plus, it's no secret he's rather handsome," she chuckled when she noticed Renata blushing with an almost ashamed face, "That's what I thought. So," she clapped her hands, "How's about we get you ready?"

With nothing else to do, Renata nodded and allowed Joan to help her get ready for the night.

~ 0 ~

At seven o'clock Renata had promptly showed up in John's room to attend the village dance, and if she admitted to anyone she would say was more than nervous of this whole plan. She didn't want to be there, she shouldn't be there...she should stay away from the Doctor and his companion, she should remain in hiding and wait for them to leave and never come back. She should do that...she should...so why couldn't she make her feet walk out of the Doctor's room?

"You look wonderful," John remarked, feeling his breath leave him at the sight of Renata in her gown.

Renata did her best not to show her blush, "Thank you," she politely said. She looked around the room as her blush faded, noticing something missing over the fireplace.

"Shall we get going, then?" John saw her getting quiet and that was something he was determined not to let happen at all for the night.

"Yes," Renata nodded, allowing him to link arms with her.

However, as they went for the door, Martha burst inside with a heavy breath as if she'd been running for hours, "They've found us!" Renata stiffened, though John didn't seem to notice it.

"Martha," he began in his scolding tone.

"They've found us, and I've seen them- they look like people, like us, like normal," Martha went straight up to Renata, the blonde growing more and more nervous, "I don't know what to do except make him open the watch!" she figured if the Doctor wasn't around then the next best thing would be the second Time Lord around...Renata.

"I...I don't..." Renata looked at John with wide eyes, her breathing picking up as she thought of the many ways she could be caught by him and the enemy.

John misunderstood her emotions for that of a fearful woman being attacked by his maid, "Martha! This is ridiculous!"

"Oh my god, where's it gone?" Martha had noticed the gob watch was missing on the mantle piece, "Where's the watch?"

"What are you talking about?" John pulled her away from the mantle and Renata.

"You had a watch, a fob watch. Right there!"

"Did I? I don't remember."

"But we need it..." Martha was in full-blown franticness, "Oh my god, Doctor we're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny and they've... possessed her or copied her or something and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?"

"Martha..." Renata swallowed hard.

"Cultural differences," John shook his head and went over to a desk where his journal was, "It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story," he returned and waved the journal.

"Oh you complete..." Martha rolled her eyes, " _This_ ," she pointed at him, "is not you. _This_ is nineteen thirteen!"

"Good," John slowly said as he nodded, "This _is_ nineteen thirteen."

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but I've got to snap you out of this," she took a breath before she slapped him hard across the face.

Stunned, Renata looked between the pair with wide eyes, "Oh my Lord," she covered her mouth.

"Wake up! You're coming back to the TARDIS with me!" Martha exclaimed as she took John's arm and tugged him towards the door.

"How dare you!?" he angrily shouted, "I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant! Martha, you are dismissed, you will leave these premises immediately. Now get out!" he used the grip she had on his arm and dragged her to the door, throwing her out and shutting the door.

Renata felt bad for the woman, even if she wasn't really friends with Martha. She could only assume the Doctor had placed Martha as his caretaker while he was human. Heaven knows the job of looking after him is terrible and nerve-wrecking...and a total nightmare. For that same reason, Renata had turned to the mantelpiece to search for the missing fob watch, hoping Martha had just missed it and was it hiding underneath other objects.

"Renata, you don't have to clean up after that insane servant," John came over and took the blonde away.

"Clean up?" Renata blinked as the excuse settled in her mind, "Right, clean up..." she looked at the mantle-piece with concern as she now knew that the fob watch was indeed missing.

"I'm terribly sorry for this," John sighed, "There goes my attempt to make this a good night for you."

Renata stopped and looked at him with a small smile, touched he was trying so hard for someone who didn't even deserve it, "I think you're doing fine, poor Martha just had a bad dream or something..."

"What ever the case is, she is completely fired," he shook his head, doing his best to keep his anger down as this was an important night for him. He instead linked arms with Renata and led her to the doors, determined to give her that good night that would hopefully lead to some type of friendship and maybe more.

~ 0 ~

Once at the dance, Renata took a look at the room in hopes of finding Martha again. She knew for sure Martha would be making some type of reappearance to get the Doctor to believe her. She just wished Martha would come to her first so she could help and keep her out of trouble, although if Martha was the companion of the Doctor she was sure Martha was more than used to the trouble that came with the Doctor.

"Would you care for a dance?" John brought her out of her thoughts, making her see he was holding a hand for her with a very sheepish smile on his face.

"Of course," Renata wasn't entirely sure it would lead to something good. She really shouldn't be doing any of this...and yet there she was. As the music started, the pair started to dance, "You can dance," Renata blurted without thought, quietly gasping afterwards. Oh, she really needed to learn how to keep her mouth shut.

"I surprised myself," John chuckled, of course as if fate was against him they crashed into another dancing pair, "Sorry," he apologized quietly, embarrassed, but then saw Renata smiling at him and suddenly nothing was wrong anymore.

After dancing a couple of songs, Renata wished for a break and so they found themselves a table. While John excused himself for some drinks for them, Martha reappeared. She marched up to Renata, looking none too pleased. "Well, you sure seem comfortable," she plopped down across the table.

Renata sighed, "It's not my fault you went insane earlier. There were plenty more options before you had to go all frantic."

"Well, I only went frantic because the one person who was supposed to be helping me was going on a date with the man she said she wanted nothing to do with," Martha sourly spat.

"I'm only here because my friend made me," Renata leaned on the table.

Martha scoffed, "Oh, please."

"It's not my fault you're in love with him and he's not in love with you," Renata snapped and made Martha go silent, "Do you know how hard I worked on this stupid perception filter?" she gestured the necklace around her neck, "I made this just so the Doctor wouldn't find me nor sense me as a Time Lady. I even went back in time to a boring ole year so that he wouldn't ever find me. Do you honestly think I'm happy right now?"

Martha was silent as she studied the blonde woman, having to admit that she really didn't look very happy at the moment. But something in Renata's eyes told her that deep down there was something Renata wasn't telling her, something important that concerned the Doctor.

"I checked the mantle-piece and you're right, it's missing," Renata continued with a small sigh, "Someone took the watch and since the aliens searching for you just tried attacking you, I'm gonna go on a limb and say one of the humans has it."

"But who?" Martha questioned as she looked around, unable to think of anyone who'd want a teacher's fob watch.

"Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand," John had returned with the drinks for him and Renata in hand, "I must insist that you leave."

Martha stood up and held out his sonic screwdriver, "Do you know what this is?" she questioned, waving it at him, "Name it. Go on, name it."

Renata quietly stood up and took the drinks from his hands, placing it on the table, "You wrote about it..." she tried to discreetly help Martha without being caught.

"You're not John Smith. You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's you," Martha watched John as he took the screwdriver and turned it around, intently studying it.

A middle-aged man, Clarke, entered the room with a gun in hand as he knocked over a hat stand, making people panic and move away, "There will be silence! All of you!" he ordered as the scarecrows filed in after Baines and Jenny, "I said silence!"

The trio turned around to see the dancefloor overtaken by the scarecrows and the humans-possessed-by-aliens. The announcer of the dance walked up to Clarke, "Mr Clarke! What's going on?" the answer was the gunfire he received, dissolving into nothing.

"Mr Smith, everything I told you, just forget it! Don't say anything," Martha snatched the screwdriver from him and put it away.

"We asked for silence! Now then," Baines turned to face the trio, "We have a few questions for Mr Smith."

"No, better than that," a little voice, _very_ familiar, strode through the crowds of people with her red balloon tied to her wrist, "The teacher. _He's_ the Doctor. I heard them talking."

Renata stumbled back, nearly falling if John hadn't caught her, "L-Lucy..." her eyes widened, "...what are...what's..." she glared at the others, "What did you do to my daughter?"

"All gone," little Lucy tilted her head, "I took the body, don't you see?" she opened her arms.

Renata covered her mouth and stifled a shriek of horror, "N-no! NO!"

"You took human form," Baines observed John who was tending to the trembling blonde he had in his arms.

"Of course I'm human, I was born human!" John spared him a glance as he tried calming Renata, "As were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mr Clarke! What is going on, this is madness!"

"And a human brain, too! Simple, thick and dull. "

"He's no good like this," Jenny frowned.

"We need a Time Lord," Clarke stepped forwards.

"Easily done," Baines raised his gun and aimed it at John, the crowd gasping at the action, "Change back," he ordered.

John stepped in front of Renata and frowned, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I literally do not know-"

Jenny snatched Martha from the side and held a gun to her head, making Martha scream and try to wiggle out of the grip on her, "Get off me!"

"Leave her alone," Renata stepped around John, her eyes locked on Lucy, "Leave everyone alone, don't you get it? There's no...Time Lords around," she had to be cautious with what she was saying. One word and she could release her true identity to them all.

"She's your friend, isn't she?" Jenny ignored the orders of the blonde and looked at John, "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back? "

"I don't know what you mean!" John shouted frantically as he thought of some way to help Martha. Even if she'd been fired he didn't want her to be harmed, and much less because of _him_.

"Take her," suddenly, Lucy had pointed to Renata, "That old nanny was so excited about my 'mummy' going to the dance with Mr. Smith..." she smirked.

" _Lucy_ ," Renata tried reaching for her, her head jumbled when it came to her surrogate-daughter, "Please...stop this."

"Renata, no!" John reached for her but was too late, Clarke had snatched her away.

"Get off me!" Renata angrily ordered.

"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human?" Clarke smirked as he held the gun to Renata's head, "Has it taught you wonderful things, are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or Mother? Your friend - or your lover? Your choice."

"Make you decision, Mr Smith," Jenny urged as the man had fallen silent.

"Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge," Baines added, lowering his gun from John a moment.

"ENOUGH!" Renata screamed and swiftly elbowed Clarke in the stomach, jabbing her elbow with all her Time Lady strength, and stole the gun from his hand, "Put down the guns, all of you," she aimed it at Jenny.

"Time Lord..." they heard the hushed voice from across the room.

"It's him!" Baines turned and scanned the area from which the voice had come through, enough of a distraction for Renata to snatch his gun as well.

Both guns were now aimed on Jenny, a look of fury in Renata's eyes, "Let her go, right now, or I shoot," she warned.

"Renata..." John was stunned to see an entirely new side of her.

"Oh, the mother is _full_ of fire," Baines smirked.

Renata moved one of the guns and fired on the floor next to his right foot, making everyone shriek and Baines jump to the side, "Want to comment again, school boy? Don't forget in what body you stand in," she snapped, and aimed the other gun at Jenny again, "Don't forget where you _all_ stand," she looked at the entire group, "You need those bodies to survive and if I happen to shoot at one of your pesky little hearts then it's game over. Put. The. Gun. Down," she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at Jenny, "Or I will shoot all of you dead, and don't think I wouldn't."

Jenny looked at the others who gave her a small nod. She finally lowered the gun and let Martha go, the woman scurrying back to the Doctor. Renata kept the guns on each side of the group, never looking at Jenny or she'd lose that boldness.

"Doctor, get everyone out. There's a door at the side," Martha urged the Doctor to start moving but he was frozen as he stared at Renata, "It's over there. Go on!"

"Do it, John!" Renata joined, "I mean you!"

"Do what she said. Everybody out now," came Matron Joan from the crowd as she motioned for some of the people to begin moving, her eyes also locked on Renata, a new person for her in reality, "Don't argue, Mr. Jackson. They're mad. That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you!"

"Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly," John finally started to move.

"Miss Cartwright, you as well," Martha quietly said, knowing the Doctor would never forgive her if she allowed another of his kind to get killed on her watch.

"Get out, right now!" Renata shouted as she gave the other, making Martha flinch, "All of you, NOW!"

Martha then quickly hurried John and Joan out of the room, glancing back at the blonde one last time before heading out herself. When alone, Renata lowered the guns, "You killed my daughter, where is my son and my friend?"

"Must you ask?" Lucy shook her head, "Stupid, just like all the other humans..."

Renata gave a small cry, her eyes tearing up, "I lost again..." she whispered, "...my baby," she shook her heads, "Oh, my Lucy...I am so sorry..." she backed away, letting the guns drop on the floor as she hurried out of the room.

She ran out of the building to see John, Martha and Joan standing there, as if waiting for her, "What the hell are you still doing here?" she stopped in front of Martha, "I gave an order-"

"I wasn't going to leave without you," John cut her off and moved up to her, still in awe of the whole matter, "What was all that?" he gestured to the building, "You and the..."

"I had a husband," Renata made the excuse that popped into her head first, "Of course I learned to defend myself, now run!" she took his hand and ran back towards the school, Martha and Joan going after them.

Breathless, the group arrived at the school where John immediately closed the wooden doors and hurried to the front hall and rang a bell, waking up the entire place.

"What're you doing?" Martha's eyes widened as she heard the nearing footsteps of the students.

"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together," he declared, "Take arms! Take arms!"

"You can't do that!"

"You want me to fight, don't you? Take arms! Take arms!"

"I say sir, what's the matter?" one of the students, Hutchinson, stopped by John, still sleepy.

"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door. Take arms!"

Renata and Martha watched as the students began loading machine guns and several other weapons. Renata racked her head for anything she could do to help and keep the boys away from the enemies but she had nothing, really...nothing. There was an old vortex manipulator she hid but the thing was so wonky it shorted out the moment she attempted to use it. She doubted it would work now.

"You can't do this, Doctor. Mr. Smith!" Martha was following John around frantically.

"Maintain position over the stable yard," he was ordering one of the nearby students.

"They're just boys! You can't ask them to fight!"

"Faster now! That's it," John hurried for the boy off.

"They don't stand a chance!"

"They're cadets, Miss Jones," John paused a moment to explain the obvious, "They are trained to defend the King and all his properties."

"What in thunder's name is this?" the headmaster had arrived, very irritated for all the commotion, "Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?"

"Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack," John moved over to the man.

"Really? Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."

"I promise you, sir. I was in the village with Mrs. Cartwright. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mr. Clark from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir. They've got guns. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."

"Mrs. Cartwright, is that so?" the headmaster glanced at the silent blonde.

"Um..." Renata blinked, "...yes, I'm afraid so..."

"Murder on our own soil?"

"Yes," Renata closed her eyes as more tears threatened to spill, just thinking about the triple losses she now had on her arms.

"Perhaps you did well then, Mr. Smith," the headmaster acknowledged, "What makes you thing the danger's coming here?"

"Well, sir, they said, um..." John couldn't find the right words.

"Baines threatened Mr. Smith, sir. Um, said he'd follow him," Matron Joan entered the place now wearing her uniform, "We don't know why."

"Very well," the headmaster nodded and turned to the nearby students, "You boys, remain on guard. Mr. Snell, telephone the police. Mr. Philips, with me. We shall investigate."

Martha stepped in front of the headmaster before he got any further, "No, it's not safe out there."

"Mr. Smith, it seems your favorite servant is giving me advice. You will control her, sir," the headmaster snapped and left.

Martha sighed, casting a glare at Renata for allowing this to happen, "I've gotta find that watch," she hurried out of the room.

~ 0 ~

With a murder happening in front of the headmaster, all war was declared on Baines and the others. Renata felt completely useless as she saw all the boys gathering up the weapons and setting positions for them. It was all to bloody and war-like, just like the Time War...and she wanted no memory of that period. But then she kept thinking about the loss she now had, a loss much too familiar like the ones in the war.

"Renata, Matron," John walked up to the two women, knowing Joan was trying to comfort Renata for the loss of her children, "It's not safe here, for either of you."

"I'm here for my responsibilities," Joan gestured to her uniform, "And you can't exactly send Renata out there on her own, can you?"

"Of course not," John took Renata by the hands and moved her away from Joan, taking a deep sigh before he spoke, "Renata, I'm really sor-"

"Don't," she cut him off with teary eyes, "Please don't."

"This is not the evening I was hoping to have with you," he admitted earnestly, pushing a strand of her blonde hair from her face.

"Believe me, it's not the one I was envisioning either," she shook her head, "But what's happened has happened, and now we have to find that stupid watch."

"Oh, come now, don't tell me you believe that," John frowned, "I'm not...I'm not that Doctor, Martha assures me to be."

"Yeah?" Renata raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly how the Chameleon arch worked, "So then tell me where you grew up in, hm?"

"Nottingham?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Renata crossed her arms, knowing all she would hear were facts.

"Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber."

"Do you hear yourself? That's like an encyclopedia. Where did you live?"

"Broadmoor Street, adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade."

Renata sighed and let her arms hang loose on her sides, "Don't you see? You're an intelligent man, you know Martha is saying the truth. When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little places...dens and hideaways that only a child knows? I challenge you to tell me all that..." but of course, no answer could be given.

"How can you think that I'm not real? Do you dislike me this much?"

"I don't hate you, I told you that," Renata took his hands and gripped them, "I'm just...looking into the facts before me, and they all concur..."

"But this Doctor sounds like some...some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that?"

"I'm not really into the whole fairy tales," Renata bitterly laughed, "Believe me, if you knew my story it'd be that of the cursed ones."

"There's not time for this," John sighed, "I've got to go."

"N-n-n-no, hold on," Renata latched onto his hands again before he could leave, "I read your journal, and if there's one thing you and the Doctor would agree on is that the children shouldn't be fighting. You know it's wrong..."

"Mr. Smith, if you please!" they heard the headmaster call from outside.

"What choice do I have?" John gripped her hands, swallowing hard.

"Someone told me, a long time ago, that we always have a choice," Renata bit her lip, "And believe me when I say I _regret_ not making that choice. Don't do the same mistake I did...do what your heart is telling you to," she let go of his hands and stepped back.

John couldn't understand where those words were coming from. He let go of her hands, replaying the words in his mind as he hurried out to join the others. Renata closed her eyes to release more tears.

"I do regret it," she whispered to herself with the broken voice of a broken woman.

~ 0 ~

"Stand to!" the headmaster gave the order as the scarecrows pounded on the door ahead of them. The boys, including John, were set up with aimed guns at the door in the school's courtyard, "At post!"

"Enemy approaching, sir," a boy announced.

"Steady! Find the biting point," the headmaster ordered just as the wood bar on the gate cracked apart and let the scarecrows file in, "Fire!"

Everyone, except John, fired at the scarecrows, making them go down like a pack of dominoes. John could not find it in himself to move his fingers and begin to shoot. Renata's words continued to replay in his mind over and over. Right now...his heart was telling him to get all those boys out of danger and the guns.

"Cease fire!" the headmaster walked to the bodies and checked them, coming to a shocking revelation, "They're straw. Like he said. Straw!"

"The no one's dead, sir?" Hutchinson asked John, sounding relieved, "We killed no one?"

"Stand to!" the headmaster returned to the barrage where the gun's were as the sound of footsteps neared the gate.

From inside the building, Renata felt her blood go cold as she saw Lucy coming inside, skipping with her red balloon. She dashed off to the doors, ignoring the calls from Martha and Joan.

The headmaster recognized Lucy and quickly moved for the girl, "Lucy, come out of the way. Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. Where is your mother? And brother? Come here. Come to me."

"Headmaster, stay away from her!" Renata ran out into the courtyard, "Don't go near her."

"What in God's name are you saying, woman?" the headmaster glared at her, "This is your _daughter_!"

"She _was_ my daughter," Renata swallowed as she glanced at the girl, " _My_ Lucy is gone...some sort of entity has taken her body over. That's not my daughter anymore. John," she looked over at him for some help.

"She was-she was with-with Baines in the village," he still stuttered to speak easily.

"Mr. Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night but there is no cause on God's earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir," the headmaster glared at Renata, "And you, I'll have the authorities on you after this," he held a hand for Lucy, "Come with me."

"You're funny," Lucy chuckled.

"That's right. Now take my hand."

"So funny," Lucy's innocent tone disappeared as she pulled out a gun from her coat and shot the headmaster dead, "Now who's going to shoot me - any of you, really?" she eyed the boys and even Renata with a smirk.

"Put down your guns," John ordered the students, eyeing the swaying gun Lucy held .

"But sir, the Headmaster-" Hutchinson began to protest.

"I'll not see this happen. Not anymore," John declared and started to motion for them to go, "You will retreat...in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way."

"But sir-"

"I said, lead the way."

"Lucy..." Renata tried going for her when Martha reached out and pulled her back.

"She's gone," Martha reminded the blonde, "Now let's go!" along with Joan, they pulled Renata away and started to run off.

Together, now with John, they helped the boys escape through the school stables. Once they finished, John kept insisting for the women to leave while he scavenged the school for any remaining boys. However, a dozen scarecrows intervened such search and made the entire group run off again. As they hurried through the outskirts of the woods nearby the school, they were able to hear Clarke calling out, "Doctor! Doctor!" the group stopped and looked through some bushes to see the Family with the TARDIS in possession, "Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize."

"Out you come, Doctor!" Baines joined the calls, "There's a good boy. Come to the Family."

"Time to end it now!" Jenny added with a laughter.

Martha glanced at John to see him staring at the blue box, "You recognize it, don't you?"

"I've never seen it in my life," he quickly declared.

"Do you remember its name?"

"You wrote about it," Renata added quietly, "I saw it, even Joan saw it," she looked at her friend who nodded in agreement, "The blue box. You dreamt of a blue box."

"I'm not-I'm John Smith. That's all I want to be," John's voice broke as he looked between them all, "John Smith, with his life...and his job...and his conquest for love," he ended quietly with a gaze on Renata, "Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?""

"I'm sure he is," Renata began, only hurting him more without realizing.

"Why can't I stay?" he pleaded with teary eyes.

"Because we need the Doctor," Martha sighed in frustration.

"So what am I then, nothing? I'm just a _story_ ," before he could break down he ran off.

Renata bot her lip and looked between the Family and John, "You know...I could give myself up," she announced, "They won't care what Time Lord comes up, as long as it's just one."

"Renata, you're speaking like..." Joan blinked, receiving a look from Renata that made her gasp, "...you're not...no..."

"Surprise, I'm an alien too," Renata sighed, "Just please don't mention it to anyone."

"Renata, you know you can't do it," Martha earnestly looked at her, "It'll be chaos."

"I know," Renata muttered as she got up and ran after John.

Eventually, with no other place to go, Renata had to suck it up and face her fear...return home where she knew _no one_ was waiting for her anymore. Her hand trembled as she pushed the door of the house, the door already been left opened by 'Lucy' she assumed.

"Renata, are you sure...?" John cautiously followed her in, knowing this would be a difficult moment for her.

"No, but it's the only option left," she swallowed hard as she looked around the dark, empty room, "Empty," her eyes teared up, "Elena...Sebastian, _gone_ ," she moved to the table where a teapot was placed in the center. She put a hand on it and closed her eyes as she felt the prickly coldness on her skin, "Stone cold..." she whispered, "...it's been quite some hours, then."

John couldn't take what he was seeing, "Renata..." he moved up to her and took her away from the table, "...I'm sorry," he hugged her tightly as she sniffled, "I'm really sorry for this," he swallowed hard and glanced at Martha and Joan, both watching them sadly, "I must go to them before anyone else dies."

"No, you can't," Renata quickly looked up before he even moved, "Not without that watch, you don't leave this house without that watch, do you understand?" she spoke fast with a trembling voice. She would not lose anyone else, especially not him.

"You're this Doctor's companion! Can't you help?" the Doctor asked Martha, "What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?"

"Because he's lonely..." Martha answered, her eyes drifting over to Renata, knowing that when/if the Doctor were to find out who Renata really was her tenure in the TARDIS would surely be over.

"And that's what you want me to become, then?" John frowned at her, unconsciously holding Renata tighter, the blonde not making a single effort to move away from him.

There was a knock on the door that startled everyone and as Martha went to answer it, Joan moved to follow, "What if it's them?"

"I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock," Martha shot a small smile then opened the door to find young Timothy Latimer on the other side.

"I brought you this," he held out the fob watch to Martha, everyone then hearing a whisper from the watch calling out to the companion.

Martha snatched the watch and hurried to the Doctor, holding it out for him, "Hold it," she ordered.

"I won't," he backed away with Renata.

"Please, just hold it."

Timothy entered the house and closed the door before moving up with Martha, "It told me to find you. It wants to be held."

"You've had this watch all this time? Why didn't you return it?" Joan crossed her arms and gave the boy a scolding look, "It's important and you knew it."

"Because it was waiting. And because I was scared of the Doctor."

"Why?" Renata suddenly spoke up, frowning at the statement.

"Because...I've seen him. He's...like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun..."

"Stop it," John looked at the boy in horror.

But Timothy continued, a small smile spreading on his face, "He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

"Stop! I said stop it."

"And he's wonderful."

The group stumbled on their feet with an explosion they heard from a distance. Afterwards, they ran to the windows to see meteorites falling to the ground.

"They're destroying the village," Joan gasped.

"Watch..." John looked down at the watch he held.

"Come closer," the watch whispered.

"Can you hear it?" Timothy wondered honestly.

"Closer. Closer."

"I think he's asleep..." John mumbled, growing distant, "Waiting to awaken."

"Why did he speak to me?" Timothy asked.

"Oh, low-level telepathic field. You were born with it," Renata was stunned to hear John talking in such a different voice, and yet one she knew just suited him so well, "Just an extra synaptic engram causing-" John was able to stop and take a deep gasp, returning to the human voice, "Is that how he talks?" he asked with terrible fear in his voice.

"That's him!" Martha exclaimed happily, "All you have to do is open it and he's back."

"You knew this all along and yet you watched while I..." John looked at Renata, unable to finish. She'd finally stepped away from him and turned for the window, staring out in pure silence.

"I didn't know how to stop you!" Martha rubbed the side of her head, frustrated, "He gave me a list of things to watch out for but that wasn't included."

"Women? Women weren't included?" John shook his head, "A conquest for love?"

"No."

"Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?"

Several more explosions continued on outside, rocking the house along with the others. Martha sighed and stepped up, "It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan. That's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."

"So your job was to _execute_ me, even better," John frowned.

"People are dying out there! They need him and I need him," Martha gestured to herself, "'Cause you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him. It wasn't even that long ago, but he is everything...he's just everything to me and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care...'cause I love him to bits. And I hope to God he won't remember me saying this."

"Yeah, you'll be sadly mistaken," Renata mumbled underneath her breath, only heard by Joan who was beside her.

"I should have thought of it before - I can give them this," John held the watch for Martha, "Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am!"

"You can't do that," Renata turned around with a resigned expression on her face, "These aliens are dangerous and if they wanted an unlimited lifespan I can assume it won't be for good intentions. It would end in pure destruction... _war_ ," her voice cut off after the word and took a moment to be able to speak again, "War across the stars...for every child," she sighed and looked at Martha, "Leave, I need a moment with him."

Martha frowned at the tone of the blonde but figured if anyone could make John open the watch it would be her. She took Timothy and with Joan walked out the door. Renata felt awful for putting John on the spot like this, so when he broke down she took him into a hug. This time, she would be there for him.

~ 0 ~

A couple minutes later, Renata and John sat in front of a window, side by side, with John holding the watch in his hand. Renata was unsure if she should just go herself and deal with the aliens, but if she did that and the watch was ultimately opened, she would reveal her true identity. And if she didn't do something, then the aliens were sure to destroy the entire village.

"He won't feel the same way about you," John spoke in a quiet tone, snapping Renata out of her thoughts.

She looked at him with genuine wonder, "And what exactly do you feel for me right now?" she challenged.

"I can't explain it," he shrugged, a small smile spreading on his face, "You're a conquest, _my_ conquest, for love. I've been here for two months and I spent it in dreams and whatnot, and then I meet you, and...suddenly I want to get to know _you_ , I want to spend time with you...see where things could lead to."

"You got all that from two days?" Renata raised her eyebrows, not as surprised as she should've been.

"Yeah, I did," he came to terms with it with a bright smile, "You're very beautiful, and a bit stubborn..."

Renata looked down with a small smile, "An old friend once said the same thing," she admitted.

"And what did you say back?"

She looked at him, her smile spreading, "Shut up," they both chuckled afterwards.

"I...don't know what to do," John held the watch for her, growing serious once again.

"Your decision should be independent of what you 'feel' for me," Renata held quotation marks with her fingers, "Because I would never be with you," she knew those were harsh words she was uttering but she had to say, now if she could just _mean_ them...

"...what?" John frowned, standing up and looking at her incredibly.

Renata sighed and looked up at him, "You heard me, didn't you? I can't be with you, I _won't_. So, you might as well open that watch," she gestured to his hand, "Because Doctor or no Doctor, I won't be with you. Ever," she looked away in hopes that after hearing those words he would do what was right without a regret.

And he would leave without ever looking back.

~ 0 ~

John stumbled into the ship of the Family holding out the fob watch in his hand, "Just..." he slipped and leaned against the wall, accidentally pushing several buttons, "Just stop the bombardment. That's all I'm asking. I'll do anything you want, just stop."

"Say please," Baines ordered.

"Please," John obeyed.

Jenny turned on a switch nearby and the ship hissed in respond, "Wait a minute," she took a deep inhale and frowned, "Still human."

"Now I can't - I can't pretend to understand, not for a second, but I want you to know that I'm innocent in all this," John fumbled and hit more buttons on the wall, "He made me John Smith. It's not like I had any control over it!"

"He didn't just make himself human, he made himself an _idiot_ ," Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Same thing, isn't it?" Baines smirked.

"I don't care about this Doctor and your family, I just want you to go. So, I've made my choice," John waved the watch for them, "You can have him. Just take it, please! Take him away."

"At last," Baines snatched the watch and gazed at it, his other hand grabbing John by the lapels, "Don't think that saved your life," he pushed the man away and laughed as he fell against the wall, never noticing more buttons had been pushed, "Family of mine, now we shall have the lives of a Time Lord," he opened the watch and with his family deeply breathed...only to realize, "It's empty!"

"Well, where's it gone?" John stood up.

"You tell me," Baines chucked the watch at him.

The Doctor caught it single-handedly and took a breath, speaking normally for him again, "Oh, I think the explanation might be you've been fooled by a simple olfactory misdirection-little bit like ventriloquism of the nose. It's an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy. But it has got to be said..." he slipped on his black-rimmed glasses on and looked at the walls full of buttons and controls, "I don't like the looks of that hydroconometre. It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way through the retrostabilisers feeding back into the primary heat converter-ah," he glanced at them with a hiss, "'Cause if there's one thing you shouldn't have done, you shouldn't have let me press all those buttons. But, in fairness, I will give you one word of advice: run!"

And so everyone did...but after the exploding ship there was an angry Time Lord to deal with.

~ 0 ~

Renata was sat on the couch with a stained face of tears, both her legs propped up with her arms over her knees. She was staring out the window to the eerie silent village across. She'd just finished sending Joan back with the promise she would eventually show up the next day to help with cleanups and explanations. She heard footsteps and the door opening, knowing there was only one person left that would return after everything.

"What did you do with her?" she gathered the courage to ask, though she still couldn't tear her gaze from the window.

"I don't think you need to know," the Doctor sighed and walked towards her.

"I need to," she swallowed hard, "That was my daughter..."

"No, that really wasn't," the Doctor bent down beside her, hoping to get her to look at him, "Your real daughter died hours ago, you don't need to know what happened anymore."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she finally turned her head, knowing that question would puncture his hearts as it was simply the truth. Although she also knew that he would take it as a simple question, never guessing she was talking about his actual daughter, who most certainly died during the Time War.

"Yeah, I guess I would," the Doctor admitted with a small smile, "But that wouldn't change anything, would it?"

She didn't answer anymore and instead took a proper look at him, no longer 'John Smith' he had changed into what she assumed was his usual attire. Things had changed, most definitely, but through his eyes she could see that he was still that irritating, rule-breaking, adventurous man she used to know, "So this is you, then?" she broke the silence and moved to sit properly.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, still bent down. He held his hand for her with his usual bright smiles, "I'm the Doctor."

"I know," Renata quietly said and shook his hand, her gaze falling, "You don't have to come and give me a pity talk, you know?"

"This is not that," he frowned.

Renata sighed, "Isn't it? I lost my daughter, my son, my friend...what are you doing if not for that?" her eyes teared up again and so she stood up and walked away from him, "I'll be alright, if that's what you need to hear to be able to go in peace."

The Doctor stood on his feet, "Come with me," he offered. Flinching, Renata turned with wide eyes, "Travel with me and Martha."

"No," her voice shook, "I won't."

"Why not?" the Doctor couldn't help feel hurt by her quick answer, almost seeming like she hadn't even thought about it thoroughly.

"I meant what I said earlier," she walked up to him, earnestly looking at him, "I will not be with you, Doctor or no Doctor. So you can go," she gestured to the door, "And don't bother keeping a tab on me, I won't be staying here anymore."

"You hate me," the Doctor concluded with hearts broken, "...and with good reason," he mumbled.

"If I hated you would I have allowed you to fulfill John Smith's last parting wish?" she challenged, crossing her arms, "Would I have allowed you to enter my house again? I don't know how else to put it but I do _not_ hate you...I just don't want to go with you. I can't."

"Why not, then? I'd like a fresh new start with you," the Doctor stepped closer to her.

"But it's not right!" she exclaimed, her tears spilling again as she shook her head, "Please, just go away, go away and never come back. I don't want you here, I want you to go!" she pointed at the door, sniffling, "None of this is right, just go! GO!"

The Doctor knew there was nothing left to do nor say to get her to come with him and so did as she wanted and left the house. Renata winced when the door was closed but felt free to cry as she wanted. She hugged herself and shut her eyes, instantly remembering the last time it had happened. She yelled in anger and pain as she swiped everything off the table, ending in loud sobs. She then stopped and looked over at the couch again, feeling even worse when she remembered...

_Renata and the Doctor (still as John Smith) were sat on the couch side by side, still contemplating on the options they could take to defeat the Family. But each time the explosions went off, more and more closely, the Doctor winced and felt worse that more and more people were dying on his account. He looked over to Renata who was staring hard at the ground, just knowing she was thinking of her dead children...and so he felt even worse. He needed to do something to stop more deaths from happening and much more, to keep Renata safe._

_"I have to open it," he concluded after a moment more of silence. Renata's head snapped up to him, "If I become the Doctor again then he'll know what to do...and he'll keep you safe," he reached for her hand and gripped it, "Something I've failed to do all night."_

_"None of this is your fault," Renata quietly said, eyeing the fob watch, "Not yours nor the Doctor's. It's those blasted aliens, the Family, they're to blame for all this."_

_"Can you promise me something?"_

_"Depends..."_

_"After this is over, you leave this place and be happy with someone, alright?"_

_"John, I can't..." Renata immediately shook her head, "...I have terrible luck, believe me-"_

_"You **need** to go and try to be happy," John pleaded her, "That's one of my last wishes before I..." he swallowed hard, "...go."_

_"One?" Renata raised an eyebrow, "What's the other one?"_

_"You'll have to forgive me, or... **him** ," John set the fob watch down._

_"Forgive you for wh-"_

_John had leaned in and kissed her. Renata's eyes widened with the action but slowly fell to the kiss, even leaning into his hand that had cupped the side of her face. Once John pulled away, the blonde wore a stunned, blushed, face, unable to believe it had just happened._

_And yet..._

Martha awaited by the TARDIS for the Doctor, now changed back to her modern clothes as well. The Doctor gave a small smile as he approached her, "All right. Molto bene!"

"How was she?" Martha asked, a bit surprised that the blonde wasn't with them, "Did she tell you-"

"Time we moved on," the Doctor cut her off with a grim tone.

"But did she tell you she's a-"

"Time we moved on."

Martha instantly knew that Renata had not confessed to the Doctor she was a Time Lady. He would _never_ just let the only other of his kind to stay back in 1913, on the brink of a war. But she couldn't exactly tell him something that wasn't her secret to tell, "I meant to say back there, last night..." she chose to obey and move on, "I would have said anything to get you to change."

"Oh yeah, of course you would," the Doctor quickly nodded, "Yeah."

"I mean, I wasn't really-"

"Oh, no, no," the Doctor waved it off.

"Good."

"Fine."

"So here we are then," Martha coughed, embarrassed.

"There we are, yes," the Doctor gave her a hug, "And I never said thanks for lookin' after me."

"Doctor, Martha," Timothy approached them.

"Tim-Timothy-Timber," the Doctor turned to greet the boy.

"I just wanted to say good-bye. And thank you, because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done," Timothy sighed, "It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."

"You don't have to fight," Martha pointed out.

"I think we do."

"But you could get hurt."

"Well, so could you, travelling around with him, but it's not going to stop you," Timothy countered and crossed his arms.

"Tim, I'd be honored if you'd take this," the Doctor handed over his fob watch.

"I can't hear anything," Timothy made a face after trying to hear something.

"No, it's just a watch now. But keep it with you. For good luck."

"Look after yourself," Martha gave the boy a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading inside the TARDIS.

"Can I ask a favor of you, Timothy?" the Doctor remained at the doorway of the TARDIS.

"Anything," he nodded.

"Renata, em - Mrs. Cartwright," the Doctor quickly corrected himself, "Look after her, please," he honestly pleaded, "Persuade her to go, to leave England...she has to leave before next year."

Timothy nodded again, "I will try my best, Doctor, I promise."

The Doctor acknowledged it and lightly smiled, "You'll like this bit," he said and went inside the TARDIS.

Timothy blinked in awe as the TARDIS began de-materializing in front of him. Though from the inside, the Doctor was actually having a bit of trouble getting the box to fully leave the place, "What are you doing, old girl?" he frowned as he went around the console, flicking controls here and there, "We're leaving! Why don't you want to go?"

Martha remained at the chairs and swallowed hard, knowing exactly why the TARDIS was throwing a fit over their departure. It recalled there was another Time Lord, a Time Lady, one that should be here with them...but clearly wasn't and wouldn't be anytime soon.


	2. Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor runs into the last person he thought he’d ever see again and she is not happy about it.

Sally Sparrow jumped over a fence to land inside a private property that most definitely had signs warning her to leave. But instead of obeying, she simply pulled out her camera and headed for the house with a cheery smile. With a torch, she entered the house and came across a solitary room that had a wall which seemed to have a pulled back paper just begging to be peeled off. She headed over and pulled back the paper, blinking when she saw the word 'BEWARE'. Well, that couldn't stay like that, could it? Sally pulled back the paper again and came across the words 'THE WEEPING ANGEL'. Another pull of the paper revealed 'OH, AND DUCK! REALLY DUCK!' She pulled again and then saw, 'SALLY SPARROW, DUCK NOW'.

She heard the sound of glass breaking and took heed to the warning and ducked. A large piece of stone smacked the window just where she'd been. In awe, Sally stood up and turned to the window, using her torch to light the outside in hopes of finding the culprit. However, she only saw a stone, Weeping Angel statue. She frowned and looked back at the wall where there remained one more strip of paper. She strolled back and pulled the last of it, reading the last words, 'LOVE FROM THE DOCTOR, MARTHA, AND RENATA. (1969)'.

In utter shock, Sally looked around in case any cameras popped up from somewhere, claiming it was all a joke...but no one ever did. What was going on?

And then, for some odd reason, she just followed the instructions and ducked.

Something was thrown her way and crashed against the wall.

~ 0 ~

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Martha exasperatedly demanded from the Doctor as they walked the streets of London, in 1969, close to sundown.

"Yes...ish," the Doctor made a face that he hid with a the file he held in his hands.

" _Ish_?" Martha shot him a glare, "An 'ish' doesn't sound very sure to me! Give me that!" she snatched the file from him and reread the directions a Sally Sparrow had left for them in the mysterious file.

They'd only met the woman about a week ago where she handed over a file to the Doctor, claiming they would need it for the future. The Doctor had read the file and immediately set out to keep the timelines in order. They'd gotten the TARDIS hijacked by Weeping Angels and were transported to 1969, London. There, they were to find some sort of apartment that had been set for them, apparently. However, with the Doctor's lack of piloting instincts, they'd been roaming the streets for the entire day. Martha was tired, hungry, a bit cold as the sun was setting, and so she just needed to get 'home' and rest for a while.

"This is the street..." she said in the end, rolling her eyes as the Doctor smiled smugly at her, "...it says we're supposed to go just a couple more buildings until..."

"What the hell...?" the Doctor had stopped walking, yanking Martha back.

"Woah!" she exclaimed and nearly dropped the file in her hands, "What did you do that for?" the Doctor simply pointed up ahead so Martha could follow his gaze. Confused, she looked ahead and blinked with wide eyes as she saw a middle-aged, blonde woman, holding several shopping bags, and was having a conversation with another woman in front of the building they were to be staying in.

"That can't...that can't be right," the Doctor started walking again, his gazed locked on the blonde.

"D-Doctor...you might want to..." Martha wasn't quite sure what to do now, she didn't exactly plan on ever seeing...

"Renata?" the Doctor had decided to call out, only way to know for sure whether he was just seeing things.

At the sound of her name, Renata looked away from the woman she was speaking to and gasped as she saw the Doctor and Martha across, "What the hell?" she whispered.

"Ren, is something wrong?" her friend, Miranda, questioned as she glanced at the two strangers.

Renata took slow steps towards the Doctor and Martha, gripping her bags as she studied them, knowing they were the people she didn't want to see ever again, "What are you doing here?"

" _Us_?" the Doctor blinked, incredibility spurring inside him, "What are _you_ doing... _how_ are you...?" he couldn't form the right question as he stuttered.

Martha remained several steps behind him, nervously looking between the two. It had been months since they'd left 1913 and Renata, and truthfully...Martha had been a bit happy that Renata had been left in the past. Renata didn't really act like a friend for her and Martha couldn't imagine having the stubborn, rude woman living in the TARDIS with her and the Doctor.

"Ren?" Miranda called again, "I'll just...see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Yes," Renata waved her off with one hand, her eyes locked on the Doctor. She was contemplating on what words she should use next to cover her identity. Just because she would have to reveal she wasn't human didn't mean she had to tell him she was a Time Lady.

"It's 1969, it's been 56 years since 1913 and you..." the Doctor took a step towards the blonde, gazing at her perfect youthful face, "...you look the _same_. _Exactly_ the same."

"So I'm not human, great discovery, Doctor," Renata regained her composition, "What are you going to do next? Take me away from the planet?"

"Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Maybe because I didn't _want_ to tell you?" Renata rolled her eyes, "I think my final words for you were very clear, go away. It still stands at this moment, go away," she spat and turned for her flat.

"You live there?" Martha stopped her with the call.

"Yes, why?"

Martha took a look at the file in her hands again, "Does it happen to be on the second floor, door F12?"

Renata glared at her, thinking the worst of the two at the moment, "I thought I said no keeping tabs on me, Doctor!" she exclaimed, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"Weeping Angels," Martha went ahead and explained seeing as the Doctor was still in shock from their encounter, "We, um, we were sent back to this year and with this file," she gestured to the file, "It says we're supposed to stay in that precise building..."

"In _my_ flat?" Renata raised an eyebrow, Martha nodding, "Absolutely not, that's not true," she scoffed.

"It is, come and see it," Martha held the file for her.

Renata set down her bags and walked towards the two, giving the time travelers and opportunity to take in her new appearance. Since 1913, Renata had foregone the period dresses. She wore a loose, white, long-sleeved, buttoned up shirt draped over a ankle-length, brown skirt where they could see brown, heeled-boots underneath. Her hair was let loose over her shoulders with a white headband keeping it from her face. She wore her perception-filter necklace that neither could really see along with a golden locket that contained no filter.

Renata snatched the file from Martha and read the contents to herself, feeling the burning eyes the Doctor had on her, "This is _my_ writing," she declared in a hushed tone as she looked up, "Which has to be another of your tricks," she pushed the file to the Doctor's chest, "Because I haven't written anything of this."

" _Yet_ ," the Doctor whispered with a small smile. If that was correct, Renata would be coming with them, finally, she would be with him and Martha. He'd felt terrible after 1913, and it had frankly taken quite some time to get over it. But he never forgot about Renata and the losses he provoked.

"You can't stay," Renata pushed the file to Martha, ignoring the glare Martha gave for that.

"So you're going to leave us out on the street?" Martha frowned, "We've got no place to go!"

"You're not cruel, that much I know," the Doctor softly said to the blonde.

Renata looked around as she considered what problems may arise if she let the two stay with her. She didn't want to leave them on the street either, the Doctor was right she wasn't cruel. She just didn't want to be around him...

"C'mon Renee..." the Doctor nudged her.

"My name is Renata," she spat and headed back to the doors of the flat, leaving the two to state after her. She opened the doors and looked at them, "Well c'mon then," she called to them impatiently, "I'm not standing out here all day. Get inside!"

The Doctor beamed and ran off for her, leaving a not so pleased Martha to follow.

~ 0 ~

Renata shuffled to open the for of her flat with all the bags she carried. The Doctor went ahead and took some, smiling as Renata gave him a sharp look for that. She said nothing of the action and unlocked her flat, stepping in with the Doctor and Martha behind.

"You can stay until you find a job," Renata dropped her bags on the couch and snatched the ones the Doctor held onto, "But that's it," she warned him directly.

"You live alone?" Martha looked around the place as she closed the door. It was too neat to have children around so perhaps there was a roommate?

"I prefer it that way," was all Renata said as she crossed her arms, "There's a guest room, though, if you two want the room," she shrugged and looked away, "Don't know how you prefer..."

It seemed like the Doctor had been alerted or something because he straightened up and shook his has rather fast, "N-n-n-no, Martha can take the room. We're friends, that's it, friends..."

Renata eyed the man with a small nod, unable to help the small kick her hearts pinged. She discreetly looked over to Martha who'd looked irritated the Doctor had so urgently defined their relation. Yes, Martha knew there was no way in hell he'd ever love her like she did with him but the way he said it made her think like there was something wrong with her. Plus, Renata was a stranger after all. He knew her for all of two days, and as the human Renata! Why did the Doctor so urgently declare they were friends to a woman who probably didn't even care? Unless... _he_ cared...

~ 0 ~

"Why did you pose as a human?" the Doctor watched Renata prepare a cups of tea for him and Martha.

She knew that they were probably hungry being all day on the streets. While she was at the counter the Doctor and Martha sat at the table. She'd shown Martha the extra room since apparently the Doctor wouldn't be sleeping anyways, and because they were _friends_ , and all the Doctor had done in the meantime was question Renata. Over and over, he insisted on getting her to talk about herself. It was getting on Renata's last nerve that he couldn't take a hint and leave her alone. Then again, he never could take a hint...why was she so surprised it hadn't changed?

Renata returned to the table with two cups for the travelers, "My name is Renata, I'm not a human, deal with it," she said calmly.

Martha took her cup and mumbled a thanks, seeing the blonde was of course irritated and didn't want to push her. The Doctor left his own cup and system at Renata, absolutely intrigued, "But why? Why hide who you are to me in the end? Why hide at all?"

Renata sighed and looked to the side, "Why can't you understand I don't want to talk? It was the early 20th century and I wasn't exactly gonna shout to the humans 'Hey! I'm an alien in hiding!'"

The Doctor did concede she couldn't have done that, but that wasn't what he was talking about, "But you could've told _me_ ," he leaned forwards on the table, "I could've helped you get back home."

Martha's eyes widened and looked at Renata to see the blonde stiffen. She knew what happened to the Doctor's planet and species, and she couldn't imagine what Renata felt like at the moment. She wondered if Renata even knew the Doctor was responsible for the demise of their home.

"Who says I want to go home?" Renata said in a mutter as she turned away, heading for the counter again.

"Well, I was just thinking..." the Doctor slowly said.

"If I was in 1913, it was for a reason don't you think?" she glanced at him earnestly.

"So this is where you've been since then?" Martha cleared her throat as she spoke. She was hoping to divert the conversation from the aliens' home, "London?"

Renata sighed and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed, "No, before the war I traveled to America. Been to all sorts of places since then, Mexico, France, Germany, and then here again."

"You like traveling then," the Doctor gave a smile.

Renata caught his look and nodded, "For some time now."

"And you stayed safe from the war?"

"Yeah," she nodded, confused why he was smiling wider.

"That's good, very good," the Doctor nodded, thanking Timothy for keeping his word and helping Renata stay safe.

"So, how did you end up here exactly?" Renata questioned and returned to the table, taking a seat across the travelers.

"We told you, Weeping Angels," the Doctor shrugged, "They nicked my spaceship and transported us here."

"Hours ago," Martha sighed.

"So you've been roaming the streets looking for this building?"

"The Doctor can't handle a map," Martha shot the Doctor a glare.

Renata snickered, "Hasn't changed much."

"What?" Both travelers looked at her.

"Nothing," Renata quickly waved it off, "Alright, you can stay until you get your spaceship back which better not take a lot of time. Or, preferably, until you get jobs and can support yourselves," with that, she stood up and left the two while she headed for her room.

When Martha heard the door shut, she set down her cup and looked at the Doctor, "Nice woman."

"Well, we took her home," the Doctor tried making sense of the blonde's behavior with them, "Plus, let's not forget 1913."

"Still, I don't think it'd kill her to be a little more nice," Martha stood up, "It's not our fault what happened."

"Martha, her children are dead because of us," the Doctor said quietly, "Even if they were adopted she loved then and they died because of a fight that wasn't theirs."

Martha had another remark for that, 'Renata was already bitter before their deaths" but that was just a bit too mean. Instead, she returned to her cup and drank silently while the Doctor stared at the hallway thinking of Renata.

~ 0 ~

Later that night, Martha was getting ready for sleep with the clothes Renata had allowed her to borrow. Renata was taller than her but the clothes seemed fine for the night. As she was getting into bed, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Martha left the covers of the bed undone.

It was Renata who'd entered the room, also ready for 'sleep' with a robe over, "We need to talk."

"About?" Martha raised an eyebrow, sensing the earnest tone the blonde had on.

"Let's cut to the chase," Renata snapped, startling Martha, "You don't like me and I frankly don't care."

Martha blinked at the accusation and tried to make a protest, "It's not that-"

Renata raised a hand and stopped her from talking, "You don't have to lie, I honestly don't care. What I do care, however, is whether or not you keep your trap shut about my identity."

Martha frowned at the time being used against her and once atsin tried cutting in, "I'm not-"

"Because under no circumstances is the Doctor to know that I'm a Time Lady, got it?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Um, the woman who graciously allowed you to stay in her home," Renata crossed her arms, "Listen to me, because you'll like this plan."

"Oh really?" Martha crossed her arms, glaring at the woman.

"We both know where your feelings for the Doctor lie," Renata began and Martha faltered in her stance, "And I know you don't want me around, which works out perfectly for the both of us. Don't tell the Doctor about my origins. Get a job, get out, and get back to the TARDIS without me. Have him all to yourself."

"Why do you hate him?" Martha genuinely wanted to know the answer to that.

Renata rubbed her forehead and groaned, "How many times do I have to say this? I _don't_ hate him!"

"Of course you do, just look at what you're telling me-"

"It's complicated!" Renata was careful not to shout. The Doctor had headed off earlier saying he needed certain items for a contraption he was getting ready to build. Renata knew he was coming back already, while he couldn't feel her as a time Lady _she_ could feel _him_ as a Time Lord.

Martha studied the blonde again and came to a conclusion, "Last Time I asked if you knew him you said no...but now by the way-"

"I lied, big deal," Renata cut her off again.

"So then you do know him, and he knows you..."

"I never said anything about him knowing me...I've...changed, since the last time we saw each other," that was an understatement and Renata knew it.

Martha nodded with understanding, recalling the Doctor saying something about his people having the ability to change their faces, "So he doesn't know that he knows you because you regenerated."

"Hasn't known for centuries," Renata clarified, "And I intend to keep it that way."

"Why?"

Renata raised an eyebrow, "None of your business. Point is, you don't say a word about me, got it? You don't know anything about me, just like the Doctor. This way, you get to take him back and have him all to yourself," Renata didn't wait for a response as she headed out of the room, more crossed than when she'd entered the room.

"Why do you act that like that?" Martha curiously stepped after Renata, but stopped when the blonde froze and kept her back to her.

"Because it will never be me," Renata mumbled under her breath so Martha wouldn't hear. Martha was left watching in confusion as Renata walked out, the blonde feeling more crossed than when she'd entered the room.

She shouldn't even _be_ 'crossed'. That was wrong, all wrong. She shouldn't care about Martha with the Doctor. She shouldn't. She really shouldn't.

As she was about to open the door to her room, the front door shuffled open and in came the Doctor holding several items. As he came in, he dropped some of then and made even more of a clambering noise.

"Oh my God, stop!" Renata ran over with her hand over her ears, "Stop moving, stop!" the poor Doctor froze in his spot while Renata shut the door, "Can you tell me what the hell is all of this?" she gestured to the mess on the floor and what he held in his arms.

"So, just to be clear, I can move?" the Doctor pointed to his spot, making Renata even more irritated. He always avoided trouble by using his sarcasm or childlike ways. He was never serious when it came to be so, he always preferred being a...child.

"What are you doing!?" Renata shouted instead of answering his sarcastic question.

The Doctor flinched at the loud tone and dropped the rest of his things, "Quit yelling!"

"Quit bringing in rubbage!"

"It's not rubbage, it's parts," the Doctor bent down to pick up the things, "Didn't I tell you? I'm gonna build a timey-wimey detector."

That did not please Renata any further, "A _what_?" she put her hands on her hips.

"A timey-"

"I heard!" Renata waved a hand to stop him from continuing, "And may I point out it is completely ridiculous how you refuse to give your contraptions a proper name. Timey-wimey? Seriously?"

"First of all," the Doctor dropped once again the items to the floor, startling Renata and annoying her more, "It's a great name, _fun_ too!" he pointed at her.

Renata scoffed and once again placed her hands on her hips while she looked to the side, "Oh, yeah, very."

"And second of all, how do you know I give all my 'contraptions' odd names?"

Renata caught the mistake and shook her head, "Well it's not...it's not that difficult to assume based off the one you gave right now," she crossed her arms and looked at him, "And that's not the point here! There are rules in this house, _my_ rules, and in my rules is the specific rule saying I don't want rubbage in my house!"

"For the last time, it's not garbage! You want us to leave right? Well, this is gonna help! Or what? You want us to stay longer? A year, maybe?"

"I don't even want you here _tonight_!" Renata blurted and blinked after she realized what she said. She saw the brief flash of hurt in the Doctor's eyes and tried to mend it, "I didn't mean-"

"What happened to that woman I met in 1913?" the Doctor glared at her for a moment before he walked around her out the flat.

"No, I-" Renata turned around after him but it was too late, he was already gone.

He was gone, just like that...again. Renata knew she deserved it for her attitude but she naturally couldn't help it. She'd always been like that, stubborn, controlling, the complete opposite of him. That's why they clashed so much in the past. But just like it wasn't her fault what her personality was like, it wasn't _his_ either. Why did she have to be like that? She drove him away once, and now this time it only took _one_ afternoon to make him want to leave.

She was awful.

Her eyes teared up as she bent down and started picking up the items on the floor, her mind wandering to the wretched day that haunted her to this day.

~ 0 ~

It was past midnight when the Doctor had decided to return to Renata's flat. He knew he'd eventually have to return, Martha was still there! Apart from that, he didn't exactly want things to end between him and Renata the way it did earlier. Yes, he was frustrated with the woman but no he didn't want to leave her. There was something about her, since he'd met her in 1913, that drove him back to her. He needed to know what was it about him that made her dislike him so much. She insisted she didn't hate him but that was probably her way to spare his feelings. What ever the case was, tonight he hadn't helped her at all and he needed to make peace with her to begin getting to know her.

He used the sonic to reenter the flat and quietly stepped inside. He looked around the dark place and noticed that all the things he'd brought in earlier had been neatly placed in a plastic basket beside the couch. He had to smile a little at her neatness, and now that he took a good look around the flat he could tell the woman was a complete neat freak. Among the things in the basket he found a glimmering gold locket that he was sure he hadn't brought in. He reached for it and studied the oval pendant that hung on the chain. He opened it up and found a picture of Renata and a man more or less her age, well, physical appearance.

His thoughts were interrupted by a low noise coming from the hallway. He couldn't remember which room had been given to Martha and which was Renata's so hoped to God it was Martha's room so he could avoid another confrontation with Renata for the night. But as he neared the hallway, the noise started turning into a small sniffles that surely didn't belong to Martha. He stopped in front of the door where the sniffles were coming from. He went to open it but found the door was already open and so gently pushed it. He saw Renata sitting on the foot of her bed with with her legs to her chest and her arms around her ankles, her head resting over her knees. He didn't expect to find her awake anymore, much less crying. But why was she crying? It couldn't have been for what happened earlier could it? No...no?

"You are incredibly rude for not knocking," his thoughts were cut off by the sharp tone Renata used to speak with.

"I-I was just..." he stepped forwards without thinking, confused how she'd seen him or known about him when she was turned away from him. She was able to sense him but couldn't exactly tell him that, could she?

"You were being rude," Renata finished for him as she stood up and pulled her sleeping robe closer to her, "Again. Don't you know how to knock?" the Doctor was going to say something that he was sure would only irritate her more and instead pulled out her golden locket, making her gasp lightly, "Where did you get that from?" she pointed at it.

"It was um, it was in the basket with my, um...things," the Doctor held it out for her to take, "I wanted to return it..."

"Thank you," she mumbled as she took it from him and opened the locket up to look at the picture.

"Who's that?" the Doctor found himself asking curiously.

"My husband."

"You're _married_?" the Doctor's eyes widened, unsure how he was feeling with that bit of news.

"We _were_ married," Renata corrected, "He died...a very long time ago."

"Oh, um, sorry," the Doctor rubbed the side of his neck, "So you've got family, then?" he assumed but she looked up at him with a new expression in her eyes, one that he knew very well unfortunately.

"We almost did," Renata nodded, "I had a miscarriage," she swallowed hard as she felt her tears built up in her eyes. She could not be doing this, not in front of him, "Get out," she suddenly pointed at the door.

"Wh-what?" the Doctor frowned.

"Get out!" her order turned into a shout that was soon to turn into a tearful shout, "Just get out, please."

"Okay, okay," the Doctor quickly accepted and backed away, feeling even worse of how he was leaving her.

She'd turned away from him but he still managed to see her heartbroken face covered in tears over the nonexistent baby. That hadn't been his plan at all, why did he keep hurting her like that? As he left, he could hear Renata's sniffles growing louder and louder, only increasing his guilt. This would not stay like that, not if he had anything to say about it.

~ 0 ~

The following morning, Renata woke up in a mess of blankets and hair over her. She'd managed to get a bit of a nap after the Doctor had left in the night. She was aware that he heard her sobs from the living room but wasn't going to talk about it with him. How could she? Out of everyone in the world he was probably the hardest person to talk about her husband and miscarriage. Heck, she'd rather talk to _Martha_ about that and she didn't even know the human!

Still, she had to leave her room sometime and so pulled herself together. She wore a long pink skirt with a beige buttoned-up blouse, tighter than the last one she'd worn. Her hair was left down to its natural length and small waves. She fastened her golden locket around her neck and pulled on her brown boots then finally left her room. She was greeted with a wave of food odor from the kitchen. Confused, she headed over and found the table was all set with breakfast and the Doctor was pulling out some orange juice from the fridge.

"Good morning," he greeted with a bright smile.

Renata's face was not the same, she kept looking around as if to see if it was actually real, "What is all this?" came out instead of a proper greeting.

"Well, humans call it breakfast-" the Doctor began with his usual sarcasm that soon died when Renata sharply looked at him, "...it's breakfast," he settled.

"And you just...cooked it all?"

"Not all of it, Martha helped."

"Oh," Renata found herself feeling upset his female, human companion had helped him.

"I didn't want to burn down your kitchen so I asked for some help," the Doctor continued on without noticing, "It's my way of apologizing for last night," Renata glanced at him with surprise, "You were right. This is _your_ home and there are rules that we need to follow. I'm just...I'm just not used to this," he gestured to the kitchen and table and even though he simply pointed Renata knew what he meant.

Renata knew he wasn't one for proper houses and whatnot. He'd never been. He just always wanted to go out. She knew he spent little hours at his own home before he was up and about outside. She took a long sigh and sat down at the table, "You get used to it," was her response.

"You liked traveling, then?" the Doctor asked curiously.

"No," she responded and missed the mild shock the alien wore on his face, "I was raised in a family that got me accustomed to the daily routine in a proper house."

"But you said you traveled around the world..." the Doctor recalled, "...but you don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just...when you're alone...you don't see the point of it," Renata looked at the table with sadness, "Even now, when you have this proper home with everything...there's no point when you're all alone."

The Doctor walked over and set a glass of orange juice in front of her, "I get that, believe me. There's nothing worse than feeling so completely alone."

Renata looked up at him, "But you have Martha, and I'm sure she can't be the only friend you have."

"Well, no, but...I'm a Time Lord, they're all human. One day, they'll all leave me and I'll be forced to continue on alone," he looked at her for a moment, "What are you?" he suddenly questioned, "Where's your family? Your home?"

"Um..." Renata grabbed the glass he set for her and drank down some juice in an attempt to buy time for an excuse. As she set the glass back down she looked back up, "...it's um...it's very, very far away."

"Well you know, after I get my TARDIS back, I can take you home if you'd like," the Doctor offered, thinking it'd do her good. But Renata's eyes teared up and let him know he was doing the complete opposite again, "What? What is it?"

"My family's all dead," she shuddered a breath, "My parents are dead and...so is my sister."

"What happened?" the Doctor frowned at that.

"Tragedy," Renata settled for the word that came no where close to what monstrosity the war had done to them all, "It struck with all its might and it took away my family. I don't have anyone to go back to. My husband, um, he was the last thing I had, he and my baby..."

But the war had taken it all away from her, her baby, her husband, her parents, sister, you name it. She knew what the Doctor had done, how he'd destroyed their home planet and she wasn't angry with him for it. Both sides deserved it. Daleks killed her sister and husband. Time Lords ended her parents and her baby by sending them off to missions they couldn't survive. She herself was lucky, she managed to regenerate in a solitary area, but her child was far too small to withstand a full blown regeneration.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss," the Doctor set a hand on her shoulder, startling her. She wasn't used to his touch and frankly would prefer for him not to do that again.

Renata sighed in the end, "You were asking about the woman in 1913..."

The Doctor recalled his nasty spat before leaving her the night before and shook his head, "I'm so sorry about that..."

"No, um, it was a valid question. That woman's gone, she never existed. I smuggled myself into that family and after the true father died, I...I put a perception filter," Renata paused as her guilt settled in, "Made them all think I was Renata Cartwright, mother of Sebastian and Lucy Cartwright...I wasn't trying to take a place that didn't belong to me but the kids, they were orphaned and I didn't want them to go to some orphanage when I could take care of them, when I _wanted_ to care for them."

"How did you get yourself there?" the Doctor asked out of curiosity, even taking a seat beside her to listen.

Renata looked at him and internally debated whether she should be telling him any of this. He still had that same touch that made her confess everything and found herself speaking before she even thought, "I was in the 51st century and I had a Vortex manipulator. I wanted to leave everything, I wanted a peaceful environment somewhere to live without ever having to face my reality, so I punched in for the late Victorian era. I met Peter Cartwright one day and...we got to know each other. I loved his children and the fact they didn't have a mother touched me because I didn't have children. I started getting closer to them and..." she looked at the Doctor with severe guilt, "...Peter fell in love...but I didn't. I couldn't."

"Because of your husband," the Doctor assumed quietly.

She eyed him silently for a couple seconds before looking away, "...yeah. When you love someone, no matter how much the time passes it will never go away. You can learn to love other people...but it will never be the same."

"Yeah," the Doctor let out a breath, his mind wandering to the past where his own love had been. Renata was right, sometimes you could learn to love others but never in the same way the first love was in. In his case, he never learned to do that.

Renata pulled herself together and mentally scolded herself for letting loose all those things she never should've said, "Sorry about that..." she whispered.

The Doctor too snapped out of his thoughts and put on a small smile for her, "No, no, I get it, believe me. I do..."

Renata studied him suspiciously and yet with a bit of emotion, "You have a lost love or something?" she tested.

The Doctor seemed to consider the question and her before widening his smile, "So the Cartwrights, what happened?"

Renata couldn't help feel disappointed he clearly avoided the question but couldn't show it, "Um...well, he got ill...scarlet fever took him and left his children. I loved his children and he knew it, he made me promise that I would look after them. So I did just that, and more. I couldn't take their pain of losing both their parents so I became the widowed mother with the perception filter. I dedicated my every waking moment to them..."

"And then I came along," the Doctor finished for her, his guilt rising within, "And I got them killed. No wonder you hate me."

Renata could see the honest guilt in the man and softened up, she didn't like seeing him like that despite everything, "For the last time, I do _not_ hate you. I know I come off that way but I really don't hate you. It's just..." she shifted on her chair to face him completely, "You and I...we're _very_ different. We clash, that's expected, but I don't hate you."

"Then why don't you want to come with me, then?" the Doctor found himself asking without thinking. What was it that made him desire so much for her to come along with him and Martha!?

"Because I can't," Renata answered with a sad smile, "...there's just no point." It was true. She'd just given up, a very long time ago.

"No, don't think like that," the Doctor couldn't ever guess the true meaning of her words as he took her hands, even missing the wince Renata gave as he held her hands, "There is a whole universe waiting to be explored. And we have the privilege to go see it."

"That's very wonderful, but...but I can't go with you, sorry."

The Doctor made a face and leaned forwards, "We will just see about that," he stood up.

Renata looked up at him with an unreadable expression, "I feel...I feel like this is the part where people ask you what you're going to do."

"Sort of yeah," the Doctor shrugged, "You'll get used to it once we're back in the TARDIS," he smiled brightly and headed off.

"But I'm not..." Renata tried to argue but he was already in the hallway. She sighed and looked back at the food still waiting on the table, "...I'm not coming," she whispered.

She looked at some of the food and picked up some toast and started putting butter on it. She was unaware that the Doctor was looking at her from the hallway. He watched with a small smile as she finished spreading the butter. But his smile started fading when she reached for the jar of sugar and started sprinkling it over the toast. He tilted his head as she finished with the sugar and took a bite of her toast. That was an odd custom to do with that type of food...but not something he hadn't seen before. His mind drifted to the past, nearly a 700 year gap of time, back to where he'd met someone who used to do the same exact thing with foreign human food.

~ 0 ~

**1 Week Later**

Martha returned to the flat late in the night looking exhausted as she let herself slump on the couch. However, she quickly straightened up when she saw Renata coming in from the hallway, already changed for sleep with a robe over her clothes.

Renata noticed how the human straightened up in a snap with her appearance and felt amused, "I'm not gonna bite if you slouch, Miss Jones."

"Formality? We're doing that now?" Martha made a face as she leaned back on the couch, "What? Is that like the first step to being your friend or something?"

"You're exhausted from your new job, go get some rest," Renata sighed and started picking up some things on the floor.

Martha watched with intrigue as the blonde went around the living room picking up objects she was 100% sure the Doctor had left behind. It'd been a week since they arrived to 1969 and it was strange the way Renata acted around them, something Martha hadn't seen before, "Why do you do that?" she asked Renata, stopping the blonde midway of picking up what looked like a cap of a bowl.

"Do what?" Renata looked at Martha with confusion.

"That," Martha pointed at the several things Renata held in her arm, "You pick up after the Doctor like it's your responsibility."

"Well, I know he won't do it-"

" _How_?" Martha jumped on the suspicious sentence. It wasn't the first time Renata said something ambiguous about the Doctor and Martha wanted to know what exactly the blonde was hiding, "How would you know the Doctor doesn't clean up after himself? I mean, you've only lived with him for a week, so...how would you know?"

Renata grimly stared at the human, none too pleased Martha was beginning to decipher some of her words, "Maybe because I've observed," but Martha scoffed at the lame excuse given, "I've had children to look after for several years, I've been with children for years of my life and I pick up on some things. It's not rocket science to figure out the Doctor is like some big kid."

"That excuse could work," Martha pointed, "If I was the Doctor...but I'm not. You're hiding something," she leaned forwards on her seat and studied the way Renata had continued to pick up, "And it's something about the Doctor, easy to to tell."

Renata let the things she'd pick up drop into the plastic basket she'd set aside for the Doctor's contraptions in the makings, "Look, Martha, the truth is, you don't care," she turned around and set her hands on her hips, "If I didn't know any better, you're just looking for something to hold against me."

"And why would I do that?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

"Because you're in love with the Doctor and you're scared," Renata said in amusement, "And the funny thing is, you have nothing to worry about, Martha. Absolutely _nothing_ ," her smile had started fading, "I want you out, is that not clear? I don't want to be around the Doctor and his companions, I can't."

"I would never blackmail someone," Martha stood up, offended of the blonde's view on her, "Let's get that straight. If anything, I'm just bloody curious," she chuckled sarcastically, "So don't _you_ worry," she pointed at Renata, "I won't force you or anything, or tip the Doctor off. I don't know what perspective of humans do you have, but you're mistaken with me," with that, Martha headed for the hallway and her room.

Renata sighed heavily and rubbed the side of her temples. She turned for the door as she heard the familiar sonic sounds on the other side and the Doctor walked in, holding a new object in his arm. She watched him shut the door with the lock on and as soon as he turned to face her, out came the words, "I want you out," she walked for the hallway.

The Doctor hurriedly chucked his newest finding to the couch and and went after Renata, "No, wait, hold on," he grabbed her arm and turned her around, "What happened? I thought we were getting along now..." the past week had been somewhat neutral, civilized. The Doctor knew that wasn't exactly the kind of relation he wanted with Renata but that it was a start.

"We were," Renata said quietly, her eyes focused on the floor, "But I want you out, that's that best for everyone."

"No, no, it's not," the Doctor slowly took her into the kitchen and sat her down at the table, "You don't want to be alone and...I want you to come with us and travel. _That_ is the best for everyone."

"Your companion doesn't like me, and I don't like her," Renata bluntly said, "Can you imagine what it'd be like if we lived all together in your box?"

"A lot roomier than you'd think," the Doctor tried to humor but Renata looked at him with hard eyes that told him to quit, "Martha is lovely, and I'm sure that if you two just get to know each other you'd be great friends."

"Except for the part that I _don't_ want to get to know her," Renata corrected him, "I don't need to know her because I'm not coming with you. So please," Renata stood up and took her hand from his, "I know Martha gets paid at the end of next week so I want you out by then."

The Doctor watched her go grimly and looked around until he heard the door of Renata's room closing shut. Quickly, he got out of his chair and headed straight for Martha's room. Upon knocking, Martha opened up and was gently pushed inside by the Doctor who closed the door.

"What's going on?" Martha asked in confusion.

"What did you do to Renata?" the Doctor got straight to the point, "She wants us out by next week and frankly I don't want to go."

"First of all, I've done nothing to her. And second of all," Martha crossed her arms, "I'm beginning to think leaving is the best thing to do."

" _No_ , no it's not!" the Doctor snapped at her.

"Wha-yes it is," Martha frowned, "She's wanted us out since day 1. Why do you want to stay so badly?"

"Because I like her, and I'd like to have her as a companion," the Doctor admitted without struggle.

"You don't even know her," Martha pointed out, trying not to panic at the idea of Renata actually becoming a companion. Would that mean that the Doctor would decide to leave her, the human, back on Earth?

"Well I _want_ to know her," the Doctor pointed at her, "And I need you to apologize for what ever you did to her-"

"I didn't do anything!" Martha exclaimed, " _She_ is the one that starts going into all this mystery stuff and leaves _me_ looking like that bad guy. I'm not apologizing because I've done nothing wrong except ask questions."

"Then I plead you to stop ask her questions," the Doctor spoke softer now. He didn't want to get into some argument with Martha but he really needed for her to get along with Renata if he was to convince Renata to come along with them, "What ever it is, just stop it. For me."

Martha sighed, "Doctor, don't you want to know what she's hiding?"

"What?"

"We know _nothing_ about her," Martha began to list off for him, "When we first met her she _lied_ about who she was, she practically threw you out of her house in the end after saving her life and the others, and now we re-meet her and she's been nothing but cold and rude to us. Tell me, has she told you _anything_ about her?"

The Doctor was about to answer with the husband and miscarriage of Renata but found that was far too personal to tell someone else without her permission and kept quiet.

"She is hiding something, I swear it," Martha clapped her hands together, "Haven't you noticed? She says these little things that are ambiguous and, quite frankly, a bit mysterious. And they're all about _you_. Who are you going to trust, hm? Me, the companion you have had for some time now, or a complete stranger you just met?"

The Doctor looked at Martha while he pondered on what his next move should be. Of course he trusted Martha more than Renata at the moment, Martha had never given him any reason to doubt her. It's just there was something about Renata that drew her to him. He didn't know if it came from his time as John Smith where he'd felt something for her or if it was just his own eye for his next companion. Whatever it was, he needed and wanted Renata to come back to the TARDIS with him.

"Doctor?" Martha stepped forwards, a bit afraid that he was actually taking a moment to _think_ about her question. What was there to think!?

The Doctor left her room silently and closed the door. Martha frowned and moved towards the door, ready to continue the disagreement but stopped as an idea entered her head. It was not nice, it wasn't what she was used to nor ever wanted to do...but if the Doctor was beginning to mistrust her for a _stranger_...then she was going to need to do it.

~ 0 ~

**Several Days Later**

"Cannot believe you dragged me along," Renata huffed as she walked beside the Doctor on a street, under the dark night. She wore a long sweater to help her from the cold thanks to the chilly night they were in.

The Doctor was holding his newly finished contraption, according to him a 'Timey Wimey' device that went 'ding' when there was stuff. For half the trip they were making Renata had taken to scolding him for acting like such a child at which point the Doctor countered with she was being too much of a mother...at which point it left both sides rather quiet for some time. The Doctor had learned that Renata disliked bringing up the topic of children when it came to her miscarriage and so he was trying to sway from that topic.

It seemed like the these last couple of days had been somewhat positive for the Doctor trying to calm Renata down and make her change her mind in kicking them out and wanting her to come into the TARDIS. She wasn't as irritated as before with Martha but the two were still barely on speaking terms, just civilized words here and there. The Doctor thought a moment together between him and Renata where he could relay to her how good of a friend Martha was would help Renata want to be friends with Martha. It was why she was accompanying him to find Billy Shipton who would be arriving very soon to 1969 from the touch of an Angel from 2008. Martha was still working which made it the perfect moment for the Doctor. It was just that Renata was a bit challenging when it came time to make her come with him.

They stopped at they heard a loud thud coming from a small alleyway and so turned to find a man falling to the ground. The Doctor walked towards the man with Renata close behind, "Welcome," he greeted the human.

"Where am I?" Billy looked around with utter confusion.

"You're in 1969," Renata answered him carefully, knowing the man was probably terrified of what happened, "Which, in reality, isn't the worst the Angel could've done to you. It's a good year, moon landing you know," she pointed up to the dark sky above.

"Martha and I have gone four times," the Doctor remarked to her casually, "Maybe the fifth time we'll have you," he smiled at her.

Renata playfully rolled her eyes, "We've been over this," she sighed.

"How did I get here?" Billy asked them.

"The same way he did," Renata pointed at the Doctor.

"The touch of an angel," the Doctor nodded, "Same one, probably, since you ended up in the same year," Billy tried getting up and made the Doctor erupt into loud 'no's', "No no no no no, don't get up. Time travel without a capsule, nasty. Catch your breath, don't go swimming for half an hour."

"I don't. I can't..." Billy tried to say but there were no words to describe what he felt. One moment, he'd been in a parking lot and the next moment he was in 1969!?

"Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels. The only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely," the Doctor started saying.

"That's not something he wants to know," Renata snapped at him, "He got zapped into the past and has to live here for the rest of his life-oh," she covered her mouth and smacked the Doctor, "Now you've got me doing it."

"Rather fast too, I like that," the Doctor couldn't help the wide grin on his face.

Renata cleared her throat and looked away, knowing exactly why it hadn't taken long for him to rub off again. They'd known each other enough time to grasp some of their characteristics, and not always the good ones apparently. Still, it's not like he'd ever know about it...

~ 0 ~

"Guys?" Martha was calling out in Renata's flat. She'd gotten home earlier than planned and found the flat completely empty. She was sure the Doctor was off doing something with his new device but Renata? She rarely went out in the night, her job ended midway through the day. Where was she?

She walked for her room but suddenly stopped just as she'd passed Renata's door. She slowly turned her head and looked at it, eyeing the open creak there was. She'd been debating about her idea for several days, her conscience scolding her for ever thinking of something like that...but her heart telling her to do it for the Doctor. Renata was hiding something from him, something she didn't want anyone to find out and if it was bad, then the Doctor needed to know about it.

And so, Martha turned completely to Renata's door and walked in. She looked around the very neat bedroom and wondered how she would ever get away with this. She too was well aware that Renata was a neat freak and wondered if she would notice if something wasn't in the way she'd left it earlier. Martha walked to a desk and started opening drawers up, finding something very intriguing in one of the last drawers.

There was a small journal inside that read a name on the cover, a different name than Renata's. Martha wondered if it was Renata's actual name but recalled the Doctor saying it was custom to write true, Gallifreyan names in their language and the name on the journal was in plain English. It must not be as important, then. But that still left the question, was the journal Renata's?

~ 0 ~

**2 Weeks Later**

In no time, Billy Shipton had accustomed himself to the idea of living in 1969, and even went ahead of running a cassette shop which would help the Doctor create the Easter eggs for Sally Sparrow to see in the future. That was exactly where he was at the moment, creating the moments Sally Sparrow would see and converse with in the future. That left Martha and Renata in the flat on their own.

Renata had agreed, hesitantly, to allow them to continue living in her flat until they received their TARDIS. It'd been nearly a month since they arrived and it seemed like everything was getting just a bit better. Renata had noticed the different attitude Martha now had with her. There were no more questions, no more accusations, and frankly...a bit of reservation from the human. Renata had wondered what was going on, if the human was alright.

A clearing of the throat made Renata look back from the kitchen table to find Martha standing at the threshold, "Can I help you?" the blonde raised an eyebrow, wondering if this would turn out to be a civilized conversation or a...

"I know who you are," the human announced, her eyes a bit downwards.

Renata raised an eyebrow and left her duties of the table to completely face Martha, "And just who am I?" she had noticed Martha had both her hands behind her back, clearly holding something.

"You're Gala," Martha pulled out Renata's journal she'd found a week ago, "And the Doctor knows you like no one else."

Renata's eyes widened at the sight of her journal in a... _human's_ hand, "What the hell do you think you're doing with that?" she stalked over to Martha intending to take the journal from her when Martha stepped back.

"It's wrong, I know it's completely wrong," Martha began as she looked at the journal, "I thought maybe you were someone bad, someone the Doctor should know about...but I was _way_ off," she whispered sadly, "You're so _important_..."

"GIVE ME THAT!" Renata screamed and made Martha flinch, "You give me that RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm sorry," Martha whispered and held the journal for Renata to take. She winced as Renata snatched the journal from her hands and watched the blonde hastily flip through the pages, "I didn't take anything out, it's okay."

"No, no it's not okay," Renata mimicked Martha's tone and looked up at her, " _You_ -" she pointed at Martha, "-went into _my_ room and took _my_ journal and _read_ it. This is the last thing I had from my home, and it was filled with my personal thoughts and feelings and you had _no_ right to read it! NO RIGHT!"

"I know that," Martha said quietly, accepting her fault with shame and guilt.

"Then _why_ did you do it!?" Renata was in full blown anger with hot tears in her eyes, "I _know_ the Doctor doesn't do stuff like that so you didn't get it from him."

"I told you, I thought you were someone bad..." Martha dared to look at the blonde, "...I was worried, alright? And you can yell at me all you want until your voice goes out but the fact remains that I know what happened between you and the Doctor and I'm _so_ sorry."

Renata faltered at the soft voice of the human, "For what? For what you did or-"

"For what neither you nor the Doctor did," Martha sighed, honestly speaking.

Renata stepped back, unsure of what to say next. She didn't know whether to continue shouting at Martha until her voice did go out or sob right there and then because someone discovered her secret.

"Now I get why you act the way you do around him," Martha said quietly, "Why you knows the things you do, why you pick up after him, why you wanted us to leave...why you won't come with us in the TARDIS."

"I _can't_ ," was all Renata said and turned away, slowly returning to the kitchen table where she placed her journal down.

"I admire your mourning but he's gone," Martha reminded, "Your husband is dead and it's time you move on. Coming into the TARDIS won't be cheating on him, it'd be you moving on with your life. Hey, it's what he would've wanted-"

"SHUT UP," Renata snapped and glanced back at Martha, "You don't know what he would've wanted."

"The way you described him I think I do," Martha nodded, "Why don't you tell the Doctor who you are? Your name, that would be proof enough."

"Because it's wrong, it's all wrong," Renata shook her head.

Martha stared at the blonde with regret and guilt. She used to think Renata was a bitter Time Lady but in reality she was just so hurt from what life threw at her in the past, for what she couldn't do, for what she didn't do, and for what the Doctor hadn't done. Martha had read something she shouldn't have and she would regret it for the rest of her life, but a way she could make it up was already forming in her head and she would put it into action immediately.

~ 0 ~

Renata was removing her jacket as she closed in on her building. She'd gone to work earlier in the day and the temperature had increased throughout her shift. Even with the sun setting, it was still plain hot. Just as she reached the front doors, she met the Doctor coming out.

"You got off work early," he beamed for some reason as he stepped out.

"Yeah, what about it?" Renata raised an eyebrow as she finally shook off her jacket and stuffed it in her bag that was slung over her shoulder. Ever since she learned Martha had taken her journal Renata took extra precautions in case the human got anymore funny ideas. She now locked her room every time she went out and carried her journal in her bag which she did not let out of her sight no matter where she went.

"I was just going to go find you," the Doctor explained, leaving her more confused than before, "I, um, I wanted to see if you...perhaps wanted to go eat something?"

"You wanted to go out?" Renata thought about that for a moment, "And how exactly did you plan on paying for that?"

"I did a little job for Billy, small little shift and I did not break anything," the Doctor proudly said which made Renata smile a little.

"You actually worked a proper job and now you're gonna go waste your money?"

"Oi, it's not a waste, this is exactly what I worked for!"

"So you worked to take someone out to lunch?"

"You're supposed to be smart, where is that, exactly?"

Renata raised an eyebrow, displeased with his sarcasm, "Excuse you?"

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor sighed, still not used to her strict behavior, "Would you like to go eat something with me?" he decided to simply just ask before he said something else that was wrong.

"What about Martha?" Renata quietly asked, contemplating on how this would go.

"Oh, she didn't mind," the Doctor waved it off, "So how about it? You must be hungry after your shift."

"Why do you want... _why_?" Renata just didn't understand the man one bit, something else that hadn't changed.

"Renata, c'mon," the Doctor was careful not to whine there and then, but she was just so difficult at times it really made him want to pull his hair out in frustration...and he loved his hair!

Renata shifted uncomfortably, not sure this was very correct. But part of her practically pushed her to say yes, to simply spend some time with him...and even though it was super wrong of her, she accepted with a nod. She just hoped she wouldn't make a fool of herself nor act too much of herself and tip him off.

~ 0 ~

The two Time Lords had found a small shop with tables outside with a view of the street. They'd ordered their lunches and were currently eating while conversing.

"So you still have ties to the old school in 1913?" the Doctor was fascinated to hear how Renata had lived after 1913, and how she still managed to keep contact and relations with those in the school.

Renata was playing with her food while she explained, "I knew the war was coming so I got myself and Joan out of there. I tried to get Timothy but he didn't want to leave. Said he had to fight..." she was somewhat sad about the boy's choice but in the end was proud of him for his accomplishments, "I traveled with Joan, though Joan...she..." she paused and took a small breath, "She got tired of just travelling in the end. I mean, I get it, she was human so her lifespan was limited."

"So then Joan actually believed you weren't of this world."

"After seeing everything you did and how there were creatures beyond Earth, it wasn't that hard to convince her." Renata also forgot to mention the part where she showed proof of her two hearts to Joan which basically sealed the deal there.

"And she wasn't afraid of you," the Doctor assumed by all the travels they took together.

"No, she saw in me a friend, not an alien," Renata had to smile, "We traveled the Americas, then she returned to England while I headed down to Mexico. I returned to England a couple years after her wedding, I still talk to her family, also all knowing that I'm not exactly human."

"That is amazing," the Doctor honestly said, "Truly amazing..."

"And you know," Renata leaned forwards on the table, getting more into the conversation as the time passed by, "Remember your journal?" the Doctor nodded, "They have it, her family, they have it. Joan is an old woman now, but she passed on the journal to her children and I assume they'll be passing it on to their children and so on."

"Why do they have it though?" the Doctor curiously asked her, "Why not you?"

"I, um, it was hurtful," Renata considered her words very carefully. She had to come up with an excuse that would work for him. She didn't want to keep his journal simply because it was _his_ and the last thing she wanted to do was reread it over and over and fall back to where she used to be, "You know, um, Sebastian and Lucy, I..."

The Doctor, thinking she was being honest, nodded with understanding, "It's alright, don't worry," he reached for her hand on the table, missing completely the flinch she gave at the contact. It was weird for him, Martha had been right, Renata was a complete stranger and yet he didn't mind touching her. It was as if they had been friends far longer than just a month and two days. Something about her made him like her and trust her.

"You know, if you want to see Joan...I can take you to her," Renata whispered, "She's, uh, she's not doing so well anymore...humans," she sighed, "Their lifespans are _so_ short..."

"Well listen, I think it doesn't matter how long a lifespan is...just as long as the life was lived to the maximum and filled with happiness," the Doctor said with a smile, "Don't you think?"

Renata could only nod. She'd lived multiple lives and none of them had been the picture-perfect happiness she wanted. She was centuries old and she was not happy.

"Doctor! Doctor!" they suddenly heard Martha's voice coming closer and closer. Renata snatched her hand from the Doctor's just as Martha finally found them, "Oh thank goodness, I was getting tired," Martha leaned on the table as she caught her breath.

"Martha, what's wrong?" the Doctor frowned at her. Not say he was disappointed in her arrival but...well, he kinda was. Renata was finally opening up about her life, and even though it was only stories of her recent times, something was something.

"You're gonna want to come home," Martha began smiling, "Seriously, we've got to get back to the flat, NOW!" she grabbed the Doctor's arm and yanked him out of his seat.

"Hey!" Renata gave a cry as she was taken out a well by the human and pulled down the street, "Hey! We didn't pay for the lunch!"

"Ah forget about it," Martha laughed.

"WHAT? That's a crime!"

Martha just continued laughing as they all ran back to Renata's flat. As much as the Doctor questioned her what was so urgent that they had to literally run all the way back, Martha held off on the answers, wanting to completely surprise him. As Renata unlocked the flat, Martha scurried in and let the other two follow.

"Look! Look! Look!" she excitedly pointed at the big, blue TARDIS just in front of the hallway.

"The TARDIS!" the Doctor gawked and ran towards the box. Even Martha joined in and hugged the box with utter joy.

Renata closed the door and stared at the TARDIS grimly, silent too. The Doctor quickly unlocked the box and went inside to check if everything was alright. Martha glanced back at Renata for a moment, noticing the lack of emotions on the blonde face, then went inside as well. A moment later, the Doctor re-emerged from the box and stepped out, "So, listen-"

"Have safe trips," Renata cut off quietly.

"What? No, aren't you coming with us?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows, growing disappointed as Renata shook her head.

"I told you millions of times, I'm not going," the blonde firmly said.

"But...but why? I thought, right now, we were getting along so well," he tilted his head, confused now, "We were talking, we even laughed. I thought things were better now."

"I never said they weren't, but I stand by my statements," Renata took a long breath, "I'm not coming with you."

"You'd rather live alone?" the Doctor frowned, "Is that what you want? To go on living on Earth completely alone? Stuck doing the same routine of working and sleeping?"

"I can travel on my own-"

"But you said there was no point," he cut her off, "Come with me, Renata, and I can show you the point in traveling. We can see anything we want, at any point in time and space. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Incredible, actually," Renata confessed with a small nod, swallowing hard, "But it's wrong. I can't go with you, I'm sorry."

"Don't listen to her, Doctor," Martha came to the doorway, looking serious as she eyed the blonde, "She _has_ to come with us," Renata's eyebrows raised at that.

But Martha was in no joking matter. She'd read the journal and she understood completely why Renata didn't want to go with the Doctor. Yes, she loved the Doctor and she honestly wished he would reciprocate her feelings...but she was no idiot herself. If the Doctor discovered who Renata was, things would certainly change. And honestly, Martha just wanted him to be happy. And his happiness was with Renata - _Gala_. Renata was hurt and alone and, frankly, needed a doctor. She would make it her goal to get Renata to tell the Doctor who she was for real but for that to happen, Renata needed to be in the TARDIS with them first.

"Martha," Renata stared at the human with utter confusion, "You know I can't."

"Yes, you can," Martha crossed her arms and looked at the Doctor, "She needs to come with us. Trust me, please."

"Renata..." the Doctor looked at the blonde with a near plead, "...please?"

Renata straightened up and faced him completely, "I will _not_ go into that TARDIS nor travel with you. Get it through your thick head," she crossed her arms and huffed loudly.

The Doctor glanced back at Martha and saw the woman give her a sharp look. Finally, the Doctor gathered courage to do what he honestly thought he'd never have to do with someone. He marched over to Renata and promptly swung her over his shoulders, ignoring the angry shouts of Renata and her smacks on his back as he headed for the TARDIS, "Come now, Martha, all of time and space to go through!"

"Let me go, Doctor!" Renata hit his back as hard as she could, "Put me down right now! Right now!"

Martha did her best to contain her laughter as she stepped to the side for the Doctor to come in with their newest companion: a very angry, loud Time Lady in hiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where I thought anyone might want to comment about a story or even just talk! I'll probably drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	3. Utopia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata is furious that the Doctor has basically kidnapped her and won't let her go. However, she's got to momentarily put a pause as something more sinister comes her way.

The Doctor finished materializing the TARDIS in Cardiff and stepped back to talk to Martha who was sitting in one of the console chairs. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw a blonde running out from the corridors and straight for the doors. He and Martha watched as Renata groaned as she uselessly pounded on the doors to open them up.

"You might as well give it up," Martha gave the call. Renata gave a long sigh as she turned around, hands on hips, and considered another way out. Martha chuckled and looked at the Doctor, "You owe me ten quid. It's been two weeks and she's still not given up."

"Yeah alright," the Doctor rolled his eyes and mumbled.

"Oh you've been _betting_ on me," Renata angrily looked at the two as she remained at the doors. She blew some air to get a blonde strand off her face, "This is all some joke between you two. Funny, very absolutely freaking funny! I'm laughing," she sarcastically gave a couple a 'ha's', "Open this door right now," she pointed at the door and glared at the Doctor, "You said Cardiff, we're in Cardiff. Perfect place for me."

"You don't even know what year it is," the Doctor reminded her.

"It's not like I care," she snapped, "It's a place outside this box which makes it the perfect place for me to go. Now open the doors!"

The Doctor innocently looked around, "Whaddya say old girl, will you open the doors for her?" he called out to the TARDIS and received a couple hums back.

Renata groaned in exasperation as she once again lost the battle of getting out. It seemed like the TARDIS was on the Doctor's side and was endlessly helping keep her in like a prisoner. She suspected the TARDIS already knew who she was in reality, a Time Lady, which only made it far more stubborn in letting her out.

"Two weeks," Renata held two fingers up, "It's been two weeks since you stole me and for what? To be like a babysitter?"

"I wouldn't have to babysit if you'd quit trying to get away," the Doctor remarked casually.

"I wouldn't have to try and escape if you'd let me go," she gritted her teeth, "This is no fun for any of us. You've traveled to four places and you've had no fun. What is the point in all this? Just let me go."

The Doctor happened to look at the console scanner and saw a very familiar man running for them. Instantly, he started the controls as fast as possible, thanking the heavens the TARDIS had finished soaking up the rift energy it needed for fuel in time.

"What are you doing?" Renata called as the console started sparking like crazy. She tried to go towards them but was knocked back by the violent lurch the TARDIS gave.

"What's that?" Martha shouted as the TARDIS continuously lurched around.

"We're accelerating?" the Doctor watched the time go up and up on the scanner, "Into the future. The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. 50 trillion. What?

The year 100 trillion. That's impossible!"

"Why? What happens then?" Martha glanced back to Renata who was struggling to get on her feet using the rails.

"We're going to the end of the universe," the Doctor's eyes were as wide as could be as the scanner continued showing the increase of the years. Finally, the TARDIS decided to stop as it landed, "Well, we've landed," the Doctor said quirtl and stepped around Martha to see Renata

"And the powers off for now," Renata realized and quickly turned for the doors, busting out with hasten.

"We've got to stop her!" Martha, alarmed, started running for the doors after Renata.

The Doctor followed her out and found Renata looking down at none other than Captain Jack Harkness who laid on the floor, unconscious or 'dead'. Renata had a look of horror in her eyes as she stared at the man, unbeknownst to the Doctor it was her getting the Time Lord instinct that something was horribly wrong with Jack. He mistakes it for fear and went over to her, reaching for her arm, "C'mon-"

"Don't touch me," she snapped and pushed past him to walk away from the box and them all. She held her bag closer to her as she looked around the solitary environment.

Martha was trying to revive Jack as the doctor she would be, "Can't get a pulse. Hold on—you've got that medical kit thing."

As Martha ran for the TARDIS he sauntered closer to Jack, still keep an eye on Renata discreetly, "Hello again. Oh, I'm sorry," was all he could say to Jack.

Martha ran back out with a first aid kit and pushed the Doctor to the side, "Here we go. Out of the way. It's a bit odd, though. Not very 100 trillion—that coat's more like World War II," she observed while working.

"I think he came with us," the Doctor suggested while he stepped back, knowing it was only a matter of seconds now until Jack would make his comeback.

"How d'you mean? From Earth?"

"Must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS all the way through the vortex. Well, that very him."

"What? Do you know him?" Renata slowly returned to them, now suspicious of the Doctor.

"Friend of mine. Used to travel with me. Back in the old days."

"But he's—I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat," Martha sadly said as she stopped trying to revive him, "There's nothing. He's dead," And just then Jack gasped loudly as he returned to life, grabbing hold of Martha who screamed in horror, "Oh well, so much for me. It's all right. Just breathe deep. I've got you now."

Jack started calming down and had a chance to look Martha over, "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"

"Martha Jones."

'Nice to meet you, Martha Jones," out came Jack's flirting.

"Oh, don't start!" the Doctor scolded him.

"I was just saying hello," Jack argued as Martha helped him up.

"I don't mind," Martha smiled sheepishly.

Once Jack had his own balance, he moved to the Doctor where both men had a short moment of silence while they stared at each other.

"Doctor," went Jack.

"Captain."

"Good to see you."

"And you. Same as ever…although…have you had work done?"

Jack scoffed, "You can talk!"

"Oh yes, the face," the Doctor remembered and smiled, "Regeneration. How did you know this was me?"

"The police box kinda gives it away. I've been following you for a long time," Jack frowned, "You abandoned me."

"He _abandoned_ you?" Renata blinked and made Jack look over to notice the second companion he'd missed, "Tell me how you managed to do that because I'm currently trying to do that myself," she crossed her arms.

"And who are you-"

Renata held a hand and stopped the man, "Refrain yourself from flirting and answer my question because I really gotta go."

"Nice companion," Jack looked back at the Doctor, "Where'd you pick this one up?"

"He didn't pick me up, he _kidnapped_ me," Renata corrected him.

"He swung her over his shoulder and brought her into the TARDIS," Martha explained as she saw Jack give a concerned look to the Doctor.

Though that ceased after Martha explained and instead a teasing smile worked it's way to his lips, "Aw, how romantic." And then he received a shoulder bag to the face.

"I'm gonna want that back," Renata held her hand for her shoulder bag she'd thrown at Jack.

"Sure know how to pick one, Doc," Jack remarked to the alien while he handed the bag back.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, Jack was definitely not helping, "It's a...it's a work in progress," he sighed and turned for the blonde.

"There is _no_ work in progress," she snapped, "Because I am going to leave as soon as I can! In fact," she ran for the TARDIS but as soon as she neared it the box shut its doors completely, "No! C'mon!" she pounded on the doors.

While Jack was very amused by the blonde, he had to question the Doctor about the last blonde that had been with him, "Just gotta ask, Doc, the Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

The Doctor was watching Renata with an amused smile and quickly glanced at Jack to relieve him, "Oh no! Sorry! She's alive!"

"You're kidding?!" Jack let out a breath of relief.

"Parallel world safe and sound," the Doctor finished explaining, "And Mickey! And her mother!"

"Oh yes!" Jack laughed and hugged the alien.

Renata had quit her attempt to flee and turned to the two men, "Who the hell is Rose?" she recalled the mention of the girl in the Doctor's journal and grew curious by the two men's reactions.

"An important woman," Martha muttered and started walking away.

Renata noticed the change in the human and followed after her, her hearts pinging as she started deciphering just how important that other woman was. The Doctor quickly went after his two companions with Jack and it didn't take long to catch up.

Renata kept glancing at Jack with curiosity and felt her instincts telling her to get away from him. He was wrong, completely wrong.

"Something wrong, blondie?" the immortal man had noticed a while back she'd been looking at him.

"Don't call me that," she said firstly, "But I want to know how you managed to get away from that one," she pointed at the Doctor who was a couple feet ahead of them, "Cos I need out."

"Well, there was a fight and I fought...but I was brought back to life somehow. I was stranded in the year 200,100, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me."

Renata knew the Doctor had left Jack because of the instincts. That meant she couldn't get him to leave her, and she had to get out. It was completely wrong to be there, in the TARDIS, with the Doctor.

"So how did you leave?" Martha joined the conversation and moved to Jack's other side.

"Lucky for me, I had this," Jack tapped the vortex manipulator he wore on his wrist, "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

"Oh, excuse me," the Doctor turned around, irritated, "That is not time travel. It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

"Boys and their toys," Renata smirked at him, glad to see a way to get back at him for her capture.

"All right, so I bounced," Jack admitted, "I thought '21st century, best place to find the Doctor' except that I got it a little wrong. I arrived in 1869 and this thing burnt out so it was useless."

"Told you," the Doctor couldn't help the smirk and turned away to continue walking. He wasn't very pleased that Renata was having a decent conversation with the immortal man instead of, well, instead if _him_. She hadn't even talked to Martha and there she was, talking with Jack.

"I had to live through the entire 20th century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me," Jack explained for the women to understand.

"That makes you more that 100 years old," Martha did the math in her head and looked at him with surprise.

"And looking good, doncha think?" Jack chuckled, "So I went to the time rift, based myself thing 'cause I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this detecting you and here we are."

"But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?" Martha looked at the Doctor with suspicion.

"I was busy," the Doctor shrugged casually.

"Is that what happens, though? Seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blonde," Jack eyed the newest blonde beside him.

Martha felt uneasy and cast a look at Renata. She knew she had practically told the Doctor to take Renata without her consent and shouldn't even be mad nor upset that Renata would one day take her place, but it still hurt.

"Stop looking at me like that," Renata scolded Jack and moved ahead, "The Doctor kidnapped me and has been forcing me to stay in his TARDIS."

"Oh, yes, I'm forcing you to see the universe, officer take me away," the Doctor held his hands out as if he were being arrested.

"There _should_ be an officer to take you away," Renata snapped, "Hasn't anyone declined your invitation to run away?" she raised an eyebrow, "Did you kidnap them too?'

Renata's question triggered the Doctor's deepest past to surface in his mind, "Once," he whispered and made Renata go quiet, "There was one who said no," everyone could see the rapid change in the Doctor's face. He quirky went ahead and left the trio behind.

Martha sadly looked at Renata who was staring at the ground, "Ren-"

"Don't," Renata blinked rapidly and turned away as well, slowly walking after the Doctor.

"What just happened?" Jack raised an eyebrow, suspecting Martha would know.

"It's a long story and it's not mine to tell," Martha sighed and took him after the others.

They found the Doctor and Renata looking out on the edge of a canyon. Their view consisted of an old tattered city that was deserted.

"Is that a city?" Martha blinked as she looked around for some type of life.

"A city or a hive. Or a nest. Or a conglomeration," the Doctor shrugged, "Looks like it was grown. But look there. That's like pathways, roads…Must have been some sort of life. Long ago."

"What killed it?"

"Time. Just time. Everything's dying now," Renata spoke quietly, her mind wandering back home, her real home that didn't even exist anymore, "All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing."

"It must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death," Jack remarked as he looked up at the sky.

"Well, Renata, Martha and I, maybe," the Doctor reminded and looked at Jack, "Not so sure about you, Jack."

"What about the people? Does no one survive?" Martha called their attention back to what was important.

"I suppose we have to hope. Life will find a way," the Doctor sighed.

"Well, he's not doin' too bad," Jack pointed to a man, Prada, who was running along one of the pathways.

Renata's eyes widened as she the man being chased by a larger group behind, "Is it me, or does that look like a hunt?" she asked in horror.

"Come on!" the Doctor broke into a run to go help the chased man below.

Jack barked a laugh as they ran, "Oh, I've missed this!" he was the first to reach to the chased man, "I've got you."

"We've gotta run! They're coming!" Padra cried frantically, "They're coming!"

Jack handed Padra to the group to take out his revolver which was promptly aimed at the chasers. Once the Doctor saw the goal he shouted, "Jack, don't you dare!"

"Fire into the air!" Renata suggested as the chasers grew closer.

Jack took the advice and fired into the air, succeeding in making the chasers stop.

"What the hell are they?" Martha studied the strange lines of the chasers as well as their basic appearance. They looked human but at the same time...they weren't.

"There's more of them. We've got to keep going," Padra repeated, still terrified.

"I've got a ship nearby. It's safe. It's not far, it's just..." the Doctor had began saying when Renata tugged on his arm and pointed him up where more of the chasers were coming down from the direction of the TARDIS, "Or maybe not..."

"We're close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we're safe," Padra assured, getting ready to run again with or without the group.

"Silo?" the Doctor looked around to his friends.

"Silo," Jack agreed.

"Silo for me," Martha quickly nodded her head.

"That depends, will I be able to _stay_ there?" Renata glanced at Padra.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Oh let it go!" he snatched her hand and dragged her into the run with others.

~ 0 ~

The group followed Padra up to a gated area where soldiers and guards awaited on the other side. Padra was the first to reach the gate, "It's the Futurekind! Open the gate!"

The closest guard moved to the gate, "Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!"

Padra looked at the group, "Show them your teeth."

The group smiled widely and allowed the guards to see their white, normal teeth, "Human! Let 'em in! Let 'em in!" the guard motioned to the others up in the watch tower."

As soon as the gates were opened, everyone ran inside and watched the gates close just as the 'futurekind' arrived.

The guard fired his gun at the ground in front of the Futurekind and forced them to stop. The leader of the Futurekind moved closer and pointed at them, "Humans. Humani. Make feast."

"Go back to where you came from. I said go back!" the guard aimed the gun at them, "Go back!"

"Oh, don't tell him to put down his gun," Jack shot one at the Doctor.

"He's not my responsibility," the alien pointed out.

At that, Jack turned to him, "And I am?" he scoffed, "That makes a change."

"Are you really arguing right now?" Renata snapped at them, "Children!"

Even Martha agreed with her that time. She looked at the guard that had let them in, "Thanks for that."

"Right. Let's get you inside," the guard motioned for them to follow.

Padra walked after the guard first, "My name is Padrafet Shafekane. Please tell me, can you take me to Utopia?"

"Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can," the guard promised as they entered the tunnel carved into a mountain.

As soon as they had been brought in, the Doctor got to asking about his TARDIS that was still out on the side of the Futurekind's. Padra started asking for his family and was directed over to a young boy named Creet while the guard finished with the Doctor.

"Sorry, but how old are you?" Renata questioned the young boy with dislike, the boy looked about ten and that was no age for work.

"Old enought to work, ma'am," Creet responded as they he led the group futher down. He started calling out for Padra's family as they passed the dozens of people lined up on the sides, "Kistane Shafekane. Kistane Shafekane. Kistane and Beltone Shafekane? Looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafekane. Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shefkane? Anyone know the Shefkane family? Anyone called Shafekane?"

"It's like a refugee camp," Martha remarked as she looked around.

"Stinking," Jack added then noticed the dirty glare he was getting from a rather large man they were passing, "Ooh, sorry. No offence."

"This is awful," Renata concluded after seeing the conditions the humans were in.

"No, don't you see it?" the Doctor moved beside her, "The ripe old smell of humans."

"Oh the smell's something alright," Renata crinkled her nose, "But I suppose I should be admiring how the humans survived. What with their million years of evolving into clouds of gas and then another million as downloads yet they always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans," she glanced at him and found he was staring at her with a goofy smile, "What?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just...I couldn't have said it better myself," he admitted.

Renata couldn't help the small blush with his stare, "Well, I'm smart too," she said weakly.

"I wouldn't know since the only things I've heard from you so far are 'let me go', 'I'm gonna kill you', and the famous 'I'm getting out of here'," the Doctor nudged her.

"You kidnapped me, what did you think was going to happen? I would somehow forget about it?" Renata had to chuckle at his dimwitted expression.

"I was sort of counting on it..." the Doctor tugged on his ear as he looked around.

"You are unbelievable," Renata declared and shook her head, still amused by him nonetheless. But her smile faded as her mind remembered what was wrong and what was right. This certainly was wrong and she shouldn't be liking it one bit.

"Captain Jack Harkness," her thoughts were interrupted by the immortal man trying to flirt as he shook a pretty handsome man's hand, "And who are you?"

"Really?" Renata sighed, already seeing a running theme with the man.

"I was just saying hello," Jack turned to her and noticed the Doctor working on a door with the sonic.

Renata followed his gaze and frowned, "Um, Doctor, what do you think you are doing?"

"Well, I believe I am trying to open this door," the Doctor gave her a look, "Yes, I am trying to open a door."

"Quit your sarcasm," she snapped and walked over, "You're going to get in trouble!"

"That's the story of his life," Martha commented while Jack went to help by using the keypad on the side of the door.

"Well you're gonna get us into trouble," Renata insisted and tried pulling the Doctor away from the door. Eventually, Renata grew tired and quite literally cut in between him and the door, "What part do you not understand? We are _guests_ here, you don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," she leaned on the doors, never noticing Jack was still working to get it open, " _That's_ how you get into trouble! It's exactly-"

The Doctor had been trying to keep up with her scolding but when the doors slid open and she nearly fell back, he snapped back into reality and caught her before she slipped back, "Woah, gotcha!" he smiled and gently pulled her away from the door.

Renata was very conscious of his arms around her waist and the first thing she did was push him away, "Thank you," she politely said then turned away, crossing her arms and focusing on getting her red face down.

"Sorry about that," Jack apologized.

"Don't worry about it," she muttered and moved slightly away from the group as they looked out the open doors.

"Now that is what I call a rocket," Martha smiled in awe.

"They're not refugees, they're passengers," the Doctor realized and glanced at the distant Renata, "Renee, come and look."

"That's not my name," she turned around with a huff, "My kidnapper does not get to give me a nickname."

"Well your kidnapper just saved you, so I think he does," the Doctor playfully rolled his eyes as she decided to finally return.

"He said they were going to Utopia," she reminded as she studied the rocket.

"The perfect place. 100 trillion years, it's still the same old dream," the Doctor remarked, "Do you recognize those engines?"

"Nope. Whatever it is, it's not rocket science," Jack shook his head, "But it's hot, though."

"Boiling," the Doctor said as they stepped back and Jack shut the doors, "But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"

"The Doctor?" came an old man and stopped beside Jack.

"That's me," the Time Lord raised a finger.

The old man beamed and took the Doctor away from the group, "Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good."

"It's good apparently," the Doctor glanced back as the group followed them.

They followed the old man, who turned out to be a professor, into a large white room full of machinery of all kinds. A blue alien stood at the entrance, "Chan—welcome—tho," she greeted.

The professor, Yana, lead the Doctor down the tables of machinery, "This is the gravitissimal accelerator. It's part of the..."

"Chan—welcome—tho," the alien, Chantho, greeted the companions as they entered the room.

"Hello, who are you?" Martha politely asked her.

"Chan—Chantho—tho."

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack flashed one of his smiles as he shook the alien's hand.

"Oh dear Lord, do you flirt with every moving thing that you come across with?" Renata genuinely wondered what were the limits of the immortal man.

"Do you scold everyone you meet?" Jack countered, "I was only saying hello!"

"Your answer is yes, I do, if they're doing something wrong they should stop," Renata shook her head and let out a small sarcastic laugh, 'And you were so _not_ just saying hello."

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Doctor," Jack made a face as he went further into the room, never noticing the trailing Martha he had behind him.

"And all this feeds into the rocket?" the Time Lord ignored the little remark and continued on with the professor.

"Yeah, except without a stable footprint we'll never achieve escape velocity," Yana sighed, "If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"

The Doctor blinked as he racked his mind for any answer that could help the old man, "Well, u, basically...sort of..." but he came up blank, "...not a clue."

"Nothing?" Yana frowned.

"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it," the Doctor shrugged, "Sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry," Yana looked around dejectedly, "It's my fault. There's been so little help."

"Oh my God," Martha gasped and made everyone turn to her and Jack to see the man pulling out a bubbling container with a hand in it, "You've got a hand. A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."

"That's—that's _my_ hand!" the Doctor gawked as he recognized his hand.

"I dread to think why your hand is in there," Renata mumbled and moved with him to Martha and Jack.

"I said I had a Doctor detector," Jack chuckled.

"Chan—is this a tradition amongst your people—tho?" the bluen alien looked between the group with confusion.

"Not on my street," Martha scoffed, "What d'you mean that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them," Martha pointed to the hands of the Doctor, nearly counting them.

"Long story, I lost my hand Christmas day," the Doctor explained, "In a swordfight."

"What on Earth were you doing having a _sword-fight_?" Renata looked at the Doctor in question, not at all surprised however. It definitely sounded like something he would pull.

"What? And you grew another hand?" Martha blinked rapidly, her mind trying to catch up.

"Um yeah. Yeah I did. Yeah. Hello," the Doctor waved with his fingers.

"Might I ask what species are you?" Yana interjected.

"Time Lord. Last of. Heard of them?" the Doctor looked around, missing the shot

Martha threw at Renata.

Even when Renata had plainly avoided talking to Martha and the Doctor, it didn't mean Martha paid her with the same token. Whenever the Doctor wasn't around, Martha tried her best to convince Renata to reveal her true self to the Doctor. But Renata was adamant that it was wrong, there was no point in doing so.

"Legend or anything? Not even a myth?" the Doctor was getting upset with the blank looks of the professor and his assitant, "Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."

"Chan—It is said that I am the last of my species too—tho," Chantho remarked.

"Sorry, what was your name?" the Doctor looked at the professor and alien.

"My assistant and good friend, Chantho," the professor answered him, "A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."

"So the city outside was yours," Renata made the connection, "I'm so sorry."

"Chan—the conglomeration died—tho," the blue alien nodded.

"Conglomeration!" the Doctor exclaimed, "That's what I said!"

Renata scolded him with a look, "You're supposed to say you're sorry."

The Doctor, for once, didn't argue back because she was absolutely right, "Oh, yes, sorry," he said to Chantho.

"Chan—most grateful—tho."

"But you grew another hand?" Martha was staring at the Doctor's hands again.

"Hello again. It's fine. Look. Really, it's me," the Doctor wiggled his fingers at her and even shook her hand.

"All this time and you're still full of surprises," she had to laugh in the end once she finished processing it. The Doctor winked at her and clicked his tongue.

"Chan-you are most unusual—tho."

"Well..."

"Don't feed the ego, please," Renata sighed, "For him, that's a compliment."

"So what about those things outside?" Jack glanced at the professor before the two aliens got into a new disagreement, "The Beastie Boys. What are they?"

"We call them the Futurekind," Yana replied, sounding frightened for some reason, "Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared they are what we will become. Unless we reach Utopia."

"And Utopia is…?" Renata raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?"

"Kidnapped," the blonde bluntly answered, making the professor lol at the others for a moment.

"She's kidding," the Doctor tried to supply but Renata remained unmoved.

"I'm really not," Renata declared, "He kidnapped me."

"Renata!" the Doctor frowned.

"Just because you're some kind of hero doesn't mean I won't go reporting your kidnapping!" she snapped, "In fact, I'll go to the shadow proclamation. They'll have you!"

"You won't be doing any of that or else I'll be forced to talk," Martha moved over to the blonde amd gave her a pointer look.

"You wouldn't," Renata caught onto the threat and glared.

Martha accepted the challenge and looked at the Doctor who was more than confused, "Doctor, I think there's something you should know about Renata-"

"Okay! Fine!" Renata quickly cut in and stopped Martha from continuing.

"What? What's going on?" the Doctor studied the two women carefully.

"I meant we should let the professor tell us what Utopia is," Martha supplied an excuse and gestured to the professor.

As everyone followed the professor, Renata yanked Martha's arm back, "That is the last time you threaten me, do you understand?"

"I don't think it is," Martha honestly replied. She didn't like the idea of using something private against Renata but she wouldn't allow Renata to threaten much less hurt the Doctor.

"Let me remind you that just like the Doctor I fought in the war and I know plenty of ways to end you and make it look like an accident. Don't forget where you stand, Martha Jones," Renata let go of Martha's arm and joined the others.

Martha swallowed hard and went to join the group either, certainly not forgetting she was human and therefore far weaker than Renata. But for some reason, she didn't quite believe Renata would do something to her like she'd just threatened. If that was her plan she would've done it the moment Martha had discovered who she really was.

Yana was busy showing the others on the computer screen a navigational chart with a blinking red dot, supposedly Utopia, "The call came from across the stars over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originated from that point."

"Where is that?" the Doctor inquired.

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness. Out towards the wild lands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in. The last of the humans. Scattered across the night."

"But how do you know it's actually humans? Or that it's actually a Utopia that's waiting for you there?" Renata suddenly questioned. Humans were always so inclined to a perfect Utopian idea and couldn't help wonder what if the exact opposite awaited for these humans?

"I don't know," the professor honestly answered, "Perhaps it's a colony, a city, some sort of haven waiting for us? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind—to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"

Renata lightly smiled, "I suppose so..."

"And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. There's a good sign. Someone's out there," the Doctor began getting into the topic with an excited beam, "And that's…ooh, that's a navigation matrix, isn't it? So you can fly without stars to guide you," he looked at the elderly man and found he seemed distant for some reason, "Professor? Professor?"

"I..." the professor snapped out of his trance and looked at the group, "Right, that's enough talk. There's work to do. Now if you could leave. Thank you."

"You alright?" Renata grew concerned for the man, recognizing the frailty of humans in their third age.

"Yes. I'm fine! And busy!"

"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it?" the Doctor assumed the reason for the distance of the professor was due to the failure of the dream so far, "This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."

"We'll find a way," the professor argued.

"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, hey still think they're gonna fly."

"Well, it's better to let them live in hope."

"Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor..." the Doctor shook of his coat and passed it to Jack before moving around, "Um, what was it?"

"Yana."

"Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" the Doctor smirked as he picked up a circuit and used the sonic on it, activating the power for the entire machinery.

"Chan-it's working-tho!" Chantho gasped with awe as they all looked around.

"But how did you do that?" Yana gawked as well, unable to believe everything worked in a snap.

"Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell you, I'm brilliant," the Doctor declared.

"And egotistical," Renata mumbled under her breath, not at all upset, simply remembering that same characteristic throughout his entire lifetimes.

~ 0 ~

After the machinery had been activated, it was all work time for everyone. Renata, Martha and Chantho had been sent out for some supplies while the men continued working on the machines inside the lab. When they reuinited, they had lovely view of the TARIDS being hauled into the room, having been retrieved from outside.

"Exra power," the Doctor beamed as he came out the TARDIS holding a large power line from inside. He inserted it into an outlet and smiled, "Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro-feeds."

"Chan—Professor, are you all right—tho?" Chantho had noticed professor Yana sitting down a bit distant again.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm fine," the professor assured, "I'm fine. Just get on with it."

"Are you sure you don't need some checking up?" Renata walked over to them, "I did a little nursing in my past. I could..."

"I said I'm fine," the professor cast a small smile.

"You were a nurse?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her as he joined them.

"For some time," she quietly said, "I did, um...charity work," she quickly turned to the professor before she said something more that would tip the Doctor off, "I would prefer if you stopped working. I'm pretty sure we can all handle this from now on."

"It's just a headache," the professor waved off, still slightly distant, "Just—Just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head."

"What sort of noise?" the Doctor asked.

"It's the sound of drums. More and more as though it's getting closer."

Renata raised her eyebrows, "Wh-when did it start?"

"Oh, I've had it all my life. Every waking hour. Still, no rest for the wicked," Yana stood up from his chair and went to work with the others.

"Renee, you okay?" the Doctor noticed the oddness in the blonde.

She took a breath to recompile herself then looked at him pointedly, "Renée? Do I have to spell out my name for you with apples or something?"

"I was just-"

" _You_ are my kidnapper, you don't get to give me nicknames, alright? I would appreciate if you remembered where you stood with me."

The Doctor endured her newest snap with silence and watched her go. Martha came over as soon as the blonde was gone and set a hand on his arm, "Don't listen to her, it'll pass."

"She's not wrong, I did commit a crime," the Doctor sighed.

"Oh yeah, you took her, gave her a roof over her head, a beautiful room, food, adventures. Yes, you should definitely go to jail."

"I still took her against her will..."

Martha couldn't argue on that one and really wished she had more courage to tell him why Renata was so upset. Renata wasn't even angry, she was full of senseless guilt of the past, for a man who wasn't even alive anymore and would most certainly want her to be happy. Most of all, Renata was upset with herself, because no matter how much she denied it she _did_ want to be in the TARDIS with the Doctor. Martha was 100% sure.

~ 0 ~

After discovering there was need for a certain man who couldn't die to keep the systems going, Jack was immediately sent down to a room below the rockets, along with the Doctor. Renata and Martha governed the computer that was transmit the conversation going on below the building.

"Renata," Martha tried nearing the blonde who had taken a seat in front of the computer. Martha had stepped away to help Chantho finish up the final wires of the machinery and was now done.

"Don't touch me," Renata coldly warned, making Martha stop.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier-"

"I don't want to hear it," Renata cut her off, "Stop, please. If you want to make it up to me, I've got a way."

"And that would be?" Martha curiously asked.

"...who is Rose?" Renata slowly turned on her seat to face Martha, for once the anger and scoldingness gone from her dark, brown eyes. Martha was astonished to find a whole new expression on the woman's face, one that she would dare to call...betrayal. Renata glanced at the screen where snippets of the Doctor's conversation with Jack were still coming through, "I know you know," she spoke quietly, "It's in your eyes, your tone whenever she's mentioned, don't you dare lie," she took a deep breath then faced Martha again, "You want to be forgiven for reading my journal? Tell me who this woman is."

Martha swallowed hard, based off on Renata's past with the Doctor she was sure the blonde would suffer for what she would know. She felt sympathy for Renata, "Ren...Renata," she remembered the blonde's snaps for the use of nicknames, "I don't...I don't think it's convenient for you to know."

"Convenient?" Renata bitterly laughed, "You tell me right now who she is. I remember her from John Smith's journal, she was important, _very_ important that much I know. Who is she, Martha?"

"The Doctor's traveled through time for a long, _very_ long time now, of course he's going to meet important people," Martha tried to sway from the answer.

"He travels in time?" professor Yana happened to be passing by when Martha had said it.

"Don't ask me to explain it," Martha sighed, that was the last thing she needed right now, "That's the TARDIS. The sports car of time travel, he says. Go figure what it actually means," she shook her head.

"Don't play me like I'm stupid," Renata snapped at her, "Who is she? Was she human? Was she alien?" she swallowed hard, "Was she...she someone he got to love?"

"Please don't make me tell you," Martha sighed.

"She is, isn't she?" Renata deduced from the plead in Martha's eyes, "Oh God, she is," she covered her mouth and fell back on her chair, letting it all sink in.

Martha didn't know how to help Renata and much less knew what to say. She was going to go and try to calm her when the professor started mumbling things, certain things that even caught Renata's attention.

"Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? I'm just a stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked," he pulled out a fobwatch from his waistcoat pocket, one that Renata and Martha were all too familiar with, "Time and time and time again. Always running out on me."

"Where'd you get that from?" Renata slowly rose to her feet again.

"I had it since I was a child," he looked at her and held the watch for her to see, "It's an old relic," he chuckled, "Like me. I was found with it."

"What do you mean?" Martha asked suspiciously.

"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this."

Renata was staring at the watch silently, trying to reconfigure its appearance with any other ones she'd seen in her lifetimes. Martha, in the meantime, took initiative and stepped closer, "Have you opened it?"

"Why would I?" the professor countered, "It's broken."

"How do you know it's broken if you never opened it?"

"It's stuck, it's old, it's not meant to be," the professor shook his head, "I don't know."

Martha slowly reached for it and turned it over, seeing the same engravings the Doctor had. She looked at Renata with curiosity and handed the watch over.

"Martha, go see if the Doctor needs you," the blonde swallowed hard as she started figuring it out. She wasn't even in her full senses when the professor took back his watch.

"What?" Martha couldn't follow except that the watch resembled the one the Doctor had.

" _Go_ ," Renata looked up with hard eyes, prompting Martha to leave. After she was gone, Renata looked at the professor with the intention of taking the watch...but she found it was too late. He had already opened the thing and she was forced to watch a familiar golden stream flow directly to him. "P-professor?"

Yana didn't answer and instead went for a lever and closed it, shutting the and locking the main door of the room that would leave the group out.

"Professor?" Renata swallowed hard, seeing the change in the man's eyes.

"Chan—but you've locked them in—tho," the blue alien went after him.

"Not to worry, my dear. As one door closes, another must open," Yana flicked a couple other switches and made the power go down, allowing the FutureKind access to the building.

"Professor, you lowered the defences," Renata cautiously stepped forwards, "The Doctor is still out there and the Futurekind will get in."

"Oh, I know," he casually said.

"Chan—Professor, I'm so sorry but I must stop you. You're destroying all our work—tho," Chantho pulled out a gun on the man, surprising him and Renata.

"Chantho, don't," Renata held a hand for the blue alien, "Please, don't."

"I can say I was provoked," Yana resolved as he held out one of the live cables for her.

"No, stop! Both of you!" Renata exclaimed, but in vain.

"Did you never think, in all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch? Never? Did you never think, not ever, that you could set me free?"

"Chan—I'm sorry—tho. Chan—I'm so sorry," Chantho stepped back as the professor approached her.

"And you with your 'chan' and your 'tho' driving me insane."

"Chan—Professor, please—"

"That is not my name! The Professor…was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am."

"Stop it!" Renata cried but it was too late, the professor had electrified Chantho, "NO!" she tried to run to the alien but was stopped when Yana held the cable to her as well.

"Professor! Professor, let me in!" came the Doctor's shouts from the other side of the door.

"N-n-n-n-n-no, not me, please," Renata stepped back as the the professor went for her, "Not me, you don't want to do that, please!"

"And why not?" the professor's tone had changed into a dark, cold, condescending one.

"Because I know who you are..."

He scoffed, "Oh, really?"

"Yes, _Master_ ," Renata swallowed hard, "The Master, of course I know you. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere."

She had successfully stopped the Master in his spot, but not for long, "Interesting. How would you know that?" he started moving in a circle, forcing Renata to do the same and therefore give him full access to the TARDIS that had been behind her.

"Because you know who I am, and you've got to stop."

"Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor! Please! Listen to me!" the Doctor continued his calls from the other side.

"Please, don't kill him," Renata resolved to plead for the outside Time Lord's life, "Not him, please..."

The Master raised an eye brow and threw the cable to the side, relieving Renata only slightly. He went into the TARDIS and started pulling out the cables the Doctor had attached to it.

"Open the door, please!" the Doctor insisted.

"Master, please, just stop. Stop it," Renata watched him return, "Please."

"Who are you?" he inquired suspiciously as he stepped closer to her.

"Renata, don't you remember?" her eyes teared up, but not even the emotions on her face moved the Master. She took a breath and looked down, "Zuriah," she spoke quietly, "I was Zuriah once, remember?"

That managed to shake him a bit, "Impossible," he spat, "You all died, I got word from the High Council. You're all _dead_."

"I deceived them," Renata confessed, "They offered me a deal and I deceived them...just like you would have done. I regenerated during the war but it's still me. I swear. I was Zuriah at the Academy, until I gave myself the name 'Renata.'"

"The pocket watch," the Master realized and she nodded, "Did you really...?"

Renata's tears fell from her face, "It's _me_. Renata, I swear."

A small smile started spreading on the Master's face but vanished as soon as he saw Chantho, just on the brink of death, reach for the gun and take aim on what she thought would hit him. Quickly, he shoved Renata to the side and took the bullet, quite literally.

"NO!" Renata cried and quickly moved over to the Master, "It's a bullet, only a bullet," she helped him to his feet and hobbled to the TARDIS.

As soon as they were inside, the Master shut the door to her surprise. He staggered, on his own, to the console and quickly worked on the controls. Renata spun around to the doors as she heard the pounding begin on the other side, it was the Doctor.

"Deadlocked," the Master announced as he prevented any access to the TARDIS to be used from the other side.

"Let me in! Let me in!" the Doctor shouted, "Let Renata go!"

Renata covered her mouth, he thought she was being kidnapped. She glanced back at the Master, "Please, don't kill him. He's the only other Time Lord we have, he was your friend..."

"I'm begging you! Everything's changed! It's only the two of us!" the Doctor continued, "We're the only ones left!"

The Master raised an eyebrow at her, questioning her previous statement. Renata sighed and lifted up her necklace and made him smirk, "Oh, clever, perception filter. Stops him from sensing you. I like it. He doesn't know about you, oh very, very, very cle-" the regeneration he'd been suppressing finally took him over and he regenerated on the spot.

Renata shielded her eyes and stepped back. When she lowered her arm she saw the new man before her, far younger than the professor. He looked around hers, and even the Doctor's, age. He had bronze yellow hair and soft blue eyes.

"Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha!" he cheered as he ran around the console, "Ha, ha, ha!" he took the speaker and started talking to the Doctor outside, "Doctor—ooh, new voice. Hello, hello, hello. Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me? I don't think!"

"Please! Give me Renata back!" the Doctor called, "Let her go!"

"You can't leave them out there," Renata frowned.

"I'm asking you really properly! Just stop! Just think!" the Doctor insisted.

"Use my name," the Master ordered him.

"Master. I'm sorry."

"Off we go, then?" the Master spoke only to Renata, anxiously awaiting her response.

Renata bit her lip and glanced back at the doors. She was still pretty hurt from what she'd gathered on that Rose woman, but she would _never_ allow for anyone to kill the Doctor, not even the Master. But she couldn't stay with the Doctor, she just couldn't. She just had to convince the Master to follow her plans. He had to agree...right?

She gave a small nod, "But we'll travel, right?" she whispered.

"Definitely," he smirked and started dematerializing the TARDIS.

As the Master danced around the console, Renata racked her memory for where she'd left her manipulator back at home. She had plans for the Master and her, and it did not include stealing a TARDIS and leaving the Doctor to die.


	4. The Sounds of Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata and Martha have spent one year on Earth together as they search for a way to end the Master’s reign. Over the course of the year, Renata is finally able to make a real friend with the woman she would’ve never considered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just realized that I completely skipped this chapter and posted the ending for the Utopia trilogy. My bad! Here's the second chapter!
> 
> P. S: I created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.

The Doctor, Martha, and Jack appeared in a modern-day alleyway. They all groaned as felt pain shoot throughout their bodies from the awful way of travelling without the TARDIS.

Martha held a hand to her head, "Oh, my head!"

"Time travel without a capsule. That's a killer," the Doctor stood on his feet and helped her up.

"Still, at least we made it," Jack took observation of their surroundings, "Earth, 21st century by the looks of it. Ha, ha, talk about lucky," he chuckled as they walked out to the streets.

"That wasn't luck, that was me," the Doctor mumbled. He'd repaired Jack's manipulator just in time to get them out of the era and back into the 21st century where he was sure the Master had come to...with Renata.

They took a seat on a bench as they got their bearings back from such a rowdy trip. Jack leaned back on his spot and sighed, "The moral is, if you're gonna get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator."

"But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIS," Martha pointed out, "And _Renata_. He could be anywhere in time and space with them."

"No, he's here, trust me," the Doctor looked around and noticed dozens of Saxon campaign posters on nearly every wall. He was trying his best not to jump up and run to every last place until he found Renata. The Master had taken her with him, against her will, and she was probably scared and it was all his fault.

"Who is he, anyway?" Martha eyed the Doctor, "And that voice at the end, that wasn't the professor."

"If the Master's a Time Lord, he must have regenerated," Jack shrugged.

"Right," Martha remembered. The Doctor watched a homeless man tapping a four-tap beat on a mug, "Then how are we gonna find him?"

"Ill know him," the Doctor stood up, "The moment I see him. Time Lords always do."

Martha raised an eyebrow, nearly spilling that he had missed a Time Lady right under his nose, or right over his shoulder anyways. She instead looked away and saw the posters for the campaign, "But hold on...if he could be _anyone_..." she stood up, "We missed the election," she realized and so did with the others, "But it can't be!"

The trio headed for a shop with a television on the display screen, _"Mr Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters."_

They watched Saxon (the Master) walking downstairs with an entourage and a blonde woman, Lucy, at his side. The Doctor scanned every last part of the screen for Renata, but found no other blonde.

"I said I knew that voice," Martha blinked, "When he spoke inside the TARDIS. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."

"He's Prime Minister," the Doctor said in horror, "The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain," Saxon kissed the woman beside him, Lucy, "The Master and his _wife_."

He was horrified to realize that while he had been traveling with Martha, the Master had Renata with him there in the 21st century for so long...he only hoped that she was keeping herself good until he got there, because he _would_ get there and he would take her back.

~ 0 ~

Tish Jones was following a reporter down the building of the Prime Minister and was failing rather badly as the woman barged into the room of the Prime Minister himself, "You can't just go barging in!"

The reporter, Vivien, looked around the room and spotted a blonde coming in from a door at the end of the room, "Vivien Rook, Sunday Mirror," she held up an ID card, "You've heard of me, I'm sure, but you are...?"

"Renata..." the blonde swallowed hard, knowing where this was going, "...and you've got to, _please_."

"Miss Saxon, I'm very sorry for this," Tish apologized and tried getting the reporter out of the room.

"Saxon?" Vivien caught the name, " _Miss_?"

"I'm his sister," Renata followed the lie the Master had set up for her and practically forced her to go with.

"Funny, you're not known..."

"I like a quiet life," Renata supplied and looked around as she waited for her eyes to dry up. That had been her problem over eighteen months, suppressing her fear and sadness from the public.

"Twenty minutes, that's all I need," Vivien eyed the woman, knowing something strange was going on with her all alone.

"I don't think you want to do that," Renata glanced back at the door she'd come through.

Vivien followed her gaze and definitely concluded that the woman was frightened, "Just ten, if you'd like. I'll be quick."

Renata knew there would be no getting rid of the human until she heard her out. So, she gave a nod for Tish to leave and glanced back at he connecting door as she slowly moved towards the reporter.

As soon as Tish was out, Vivien walked up to the blonde, "You're not his sister, are you?"

"You have to _go_ ," Renata whispered pleadingly, the tears fresh in her eyes again, "Forget about all this and just go, please."

"Miss Saxon, it's not just you that's in danger, it's the entire world," Vivien sighed and slowly sat down with Renata on the couch, "And you know this, don't you?"

"I'm not here by choice, but in doing so I serve a punishment," Renata whispered, uncaring if the reporter understood her.

"Your 'brother', is not who he says he is," Vivien reminded her, "Everything's a lie and you know it. All of it. The school days, his degree, even his mother and father. It's all invented."

"You're gonna get yourself killed," Renata tried to stop the reporter.

"Look, Harold Saxon never went to Cambridge," Vivien held up a photo for the blonde to see, "There was no Harold Saxon. The thing is, it's obvious. The forgery is screaming out and yet no one can see it. It's as if he's mesmerized the entire world."

"I know, I know, now I beg you to leave. If you want to help, then you need to be _alive_ first of all," Renata stood up, "Why won't you listen to me?"

"18 months ago he became real," Vivien continued, hoping she'd get through the oh-so-clear terrified blonde, "This is his first, honest-to-God appearance, just after the downfall of Harriet Jones. And at the exact same time, they launched the Archangel Network."

"Stop it, please!"

"Even now they say that the— the Cabinet has gone into seclusion. I mean, what does that mean, 'seclusion'?"

"Same thing that's gonna happen to you if you don't hurry up and _leave_!"

"What has he done to you, sweetheart?" Vivien stood up.

"Nothing," Renata struggled to not make faces as she felt her sobs coming on, "We are family, and that is a true statement. I thought he would change now that it was just the three of us but...I was wrong," she took a deep breath, "And I'm paying the price for it along with my other betrayals. But you, you can still run. And if you do, you need to go find Torchwood, now they can help you. If I'm lucky they can help me, even."

Over the course of the 18 months she'd been trapped with the Master and his wife, Renata had done research over the Doctor's tenure in the year. She was up to speed with everything and everyone he'd met up until Martha...and that meant _everyone_. She was more than hurt to figure out who Rose Tyler was and at times did feel like the Master was right and nearly followed him...but then that small piece of her hearts pinged and made her stop. Because no matter what, she still cared for the Doctor.

"You gotta go," Renata ran a hand through her straight, blonde hair and gestued for the door of freedom, one she could not pass herself, "Please, just go!"

"Oh, I think it's a bit late for that," came the voice that had started giving her nightmares.

Renata spun around and saw the Master leaning on the connecting door she'd come in through earlier, "My _unfaithful_ companion," he eyed Renata with a smirk, "You won't even defend me anymore?"

"She doesn't know what she's saying," Renata quickly stepped in front of Vivien as the Master headed for them, "Please, she's just a human."

"Human, alright, but perfectly right," he pointed at Vivien, "Harold Saxon doesn't exist."

"Then tell me…" Vivien moved around Renata, ignoring the blonde's pleads, "who are you?"

"Please don't do it," Renata looked at the Master with her watery eyes that no longer moved him, "She's only human..."

"I'm the Master and these are my friends," the man held out his hands as four small, metal spheres appeared and floated around him.

Vivien eyed the spheres with confusion, "I'm sorry?"

"Can't you hear it, Mrs Rook?"

"What do you mean?"

"The drumbeat. The drums coming closer and closer," the Master reached over and yanked Renata away from the reporter just as the spheres went towards Vivien.

Vivien stared in horror as the spheres stuck out spikes, "The lady doesn't like us," one of them said.

"Silly lady," went the second sphere.

" _Dead_ lady," went the third.

"No, no, please," Renata begged and struggled as the Master forcefully brought her out of the room just as the spheres attacked the poor reporter.

Saxon went to open the door just a smidge and winced as the loud screams of the human still went on. Quickly, he shut it...then tried it again. Renata slapped his hands from the door, completely furious, "Elek would be _very_ disappointed."

The Master raised an eyebrow, "But who would he be more disappointed of, hm? Me...or _you_?" he pushed past her and left her to ponder on his words.

Renata swallowed hard and hurried away, somewhere silent and solitary where she could cry once more.

~ 0 ~

Hours later, Renata sat alone in the office holding her small, now tattered, journal in her hands. She was reading it with tears in her eyes and stifled sobs. The journal was the reason for the Master's change with her. She should've burn that thing when she had the chance.

She was approached by Tish Jones with a tea cup in hand. She took a deep breath and accepted it, "Thank you."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Tish politely asked.

Renata looked around and saw everyone distracted. The Master was making a broadcast to the entire world about the spheres, or 'Toclafane' which were completely false and in reality were an utter heartbreak. She stood up and stuffed her journal into her bag she stilled carried around wherever she went. She took Tish by the arm with one hand and frantically looked around, "There is something you can do for me."

"And what would that be?" Tish asked in confusion, actually a bit concerned with the blonde.

She'd started her job only two days ago and yet she already noticed Renata was always reserved and usually all alone. She knew Renata was the Prime Minister's sister but that was about it. But even she could see there was some tension between the two siblings as they usally always ended up in arguments or Renata would run out the room in tears.

"Your sister, Martha, have you spoken to her today?" Renata quietly inquired, eyeing every person that walked their way.

"Um, no, I left her a message on her machine but that was a couple days ago," Tish shrugged, "Um, how do you know my sister?"

"I know everyone, sweetheart," Renata casually said as she dumped her tea cup in the nearest rubbish can she passed, "You've seen her, though, right? In that Lazarus lab or something?"

"Um, yeah, that was three days ago, though," Tish eyed Renata with suspicion.

"And she was with a man, right? Very tall, brown eyes, big, brown hair?"

"Yeah, yeah, her plus one," Tish recalled the strange man called the Doctor that her sister had recently found.

"I know who he is, who he _really_ is," Renata stepped closer to her and spoke hushedly, "Now please, hear me when I tell you it's time for you to go on your...lunch break."

"Lunch...what?" Tish made a face, "But that's not for another hour."

Renata snatched her arm again and dragged her down the stairs, "Tish, I'm serious. Get out of this building and call Martha, or better yet, go to her."

"Miss Saxon, I don't understand what you're talking about-" Tish flinched as her cellphone went off and when she took out she laughed lightly, "Oh look at the irony, it's her," she waved the phone to Renata.

Renata snatched her phone and quickly answered it, "What's happening!? Tish!?" came Martha's loud voice from the other line.

"Martha, be quiet!" Renata snapped and succedded in stopping the shouts.

"Oh my God, it's Renata! Doctor, it's Renata," Martha started going off again.

"What are you doing?" Tish frowned at Renata.

"Get out, go on!" Renata pushed the young human down the remaining stairs.

"Renata!? Renata, is that really you!?" the Doctor had taken the phone and was going on just as crazy as Martha was earlier, "Are you alright!? Has the Master hurt you? Where are you?"

"SHUT UP!" Renata rose her voice and finally got some quiet on the other line, "God, you know how to talk. Listen to me, I am fine...in what fits," she swallowed hard, "But the humans, they're not. The Toclafane, they're fakes, they're not aliens."

"Yeah, got that much," the Doctor sighed, "But don't worry, I'll get you back, I swear. The Master kidnapped you and I swear I will have you back soon enough."

"Oh Doctor," Renata bit her lip as she sighed, "If you only knew that-"

"What are you doing?" Renata heard Tish's cry and looked to find the human being carried off by two men that clearly worked for the Master.

"It's started," Renata shuddered a breath as the two more men came after her.

"What's started?" the Doctor frantically asked her from the phone, "What's going on?"

"Doctor, Doctor listen to me," Renata tried running, "Just listen to me, run! Do what you do best and _run_! Because the Master, he's got this awful plan and-AH!" one of the man had snatched her off the ground and forced her to drop the cellphone to the floor, "No! Get off me!" she hit the man who carried her, "GET OFF!"

~ 0 ~

Renata was plopped down across the Master's desk in his office by the two men who had grabbed her outside. The Master stared at her for a moment, his fingers tapping that four-beat drum sound on the desk, "Trying to warn the Doctor, I've heard..." he began.

"You can be angry for what I did, for what he did, but you do not get to take it out on a civilization," Renata said quietly, "These humans, while a bit primitive," she had to admit, "are not at fault for some stupid love triangle. It's all a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

The Master slammed his hand on the desk and made her flinch, "You betrayed my brother and you call that ridiculous?"

"You've done far worse so don't make me look like the bad guy when you've killed innocent people!" Renata snapped, her anger boiling inside her, "I accept my faults; I loved someone I shouldn't have and I married someone I shouldn't have. But you? Where are your faults, hm? Why should I be punished for my sins when you're doing bad as well?"

"Oh, looks like talking to the Doctor has given you some boldness," the Masther remarked distastefully, "And once again the betrayal surfaces."

"Elek is no longer here," Renata began.

"But you _know_ it happened far before his death, far before the war started," the Master stood up. He moved around the desk until he was behind Renata's chair, "This started before you even graduated the academy, back when we were all just young adults. You betrayed my brother, and you deserve all this."

"I know it was the beginning of everything..." Renata paused, feeling her eyes watering up. "It was my ending. But you don't think I know this is my punishment? That I deserve this?" she glanced back at the Master. "I get it, alright. It's the fault I've lived with my entire lifetimes. But you know what? I was faithful to my husband, to my marriage till the end, I was faithful. It should've been like that from the very beginning, I know..."

"It _should've_ ," the Master tapped her head and made her wince in the end, "But it _wasn't_. I've known the Doctor since we were kids and while we've faught and all, the one thing I could never imagine him doing was infidelity."

Renata shut her eyes as she felt her tears resurface, "He wasn't married-"

"But he was _getting_ married," the Master cut her off, his voice rising as he spoke again, "And you were betrothed! Believe it or not, I recognize my faults, I do," he sat on the edge of his desk and looked down on her, "I'm no good man, not that I care. But my brother, Elek, now he was the complete package. He was kind, he was loving, and he only wanted _you_ ," he then reached for Renata's bag and forcefully took her journal from inside, "But in the meantime he was preparing for your marriage you were falling in love with another, the precise friend I thought I had...the Doctor."

Renata looked up at him with shame, "I tried, I swear I tried to-"

"If you were 'trying' you would have sent him to another foundation, to another group, but no, you, you kept the Doctor working for you until he too fell in love with you..."

"Stop, please," Renata sniffled.

"And now part of your punishment is knowing the Doctor is in love with another, and just anyone but a _human_ ," the Master spat the last word venomously, "He traded you in for a lousy human, ha!"

Renata tried to glare but couldn't as she felt her hearts break into pieces, "Y-you're married to a human..." she tried to argue but her voice broke.

She knew he was right, the Doctor had fallen for a human. But then again, the Doctor didn't know who she was and was more than free to love who he wanted. Now he was unmarried and single, his entire family was dead and...

She shut her eyes and put her hands over her head, "I don't wan to think about it anymore, please. It hurts, really hurts."

"And how do you think Elek would've reacted if he found out?" the Master questioned her.

"I've heard the story millions of times from you and then another billion from my conscience. I get it, alright?" she opened her eyes, "I'm not a good woman and no matter what I do nor say is going to make you think it. Kill me already and get it over with. Cos I know that's what you deem right as a punishment for me and the Doctor. Do it and get it over with already."

The Master stared at her then looked down at the journal and threw it at her, making her wince with the hit. He stood up and headed for the doors, "You try to escape one more time and I'll make regeneration number 11 happen," he warned and walked out.

Renata hugged her journal tight as she sniffled louder and louder. As her mind replayed the story of her life she felt the journal to be part of the problem and threw it across the room. She leaned back on her chair and picked up her legs, bringing them to her chest and resting her head over her knees, quietly crying to herself.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Martha, and Jack stood in the airport where Saxon and his wife were greeting the President of the United States. They each had perception filters thanks to bits of TARDIS keys amplified by the sonic screwdriver which enabled them to stay among the hidden from anyone, simply unnoticed. They watched Saxon bid goodbye to the President just as police van pulled over. The trio watched as Martha's entire family except her brother were hauled out of the van.

"Hi, guys! All will be revealed!" the Master ran over to greet them ever so cheerfully.

"Oh my God," Martha clenched her fists.

"Don't move," the Doctor warned her.

"But..."

"Don't."

"I'm gonna kill him," Martha resolved as her family was brought to the Land Rover.

"Say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?" Jack considered the chances of succession.

"Now that sounds like Torchwood," the Doctor remarked and was gonna go further into it when a fourth prisoner was taken out the van.

It was Renata, handcuffed by the wrists, and with a lot more guards struggling to get her out. She wasn't a Time Lady without strength. They needed a lot more humans to bring her down.

Renata kicked and fought as her feet landed on the floor, "Are you really doing this?" she demanded from the Master, " _Me_?"

"Punishment extends, darling," the Master waved for the men to bring her to the other prisoners.

"You can't do this to me!" Renata shouted as she was dragged away, "I'm the only family you have left!" she struggled against the guards, "Let go!"

" _What_ did she say?" Jack inquired and glanced at the Doctor.

The Time Lord had been far too focused on the fact Renata was being hauled off like some random prisoner by his friend/enemy. She was stuck in the middle of Time Lord trouble and it was all his fault. Who knows what the Master had done with her for the past 18 months?

Jack pulled out his manipulator and started punching in coordinates, "Aircraft carrier Valiant. It's a UNIT ship at 28.2N and 10.02E."

"How do we get onboard?" Martha looked at the strange device on his wrist.

"Does that thing work as a teleport?" the Doctor questioned.

"Since you revamped it, yeah," Jack nodded, "Coordinates set."

The trio appeared in an engine room, on the floor. Once again, the manipulator was no easy ride amd had the group groaning of pain.

"Oh, that thing is rough," Martha made a face as she sat up.

"I've has worse nights," Jack commented and helped her stand, "Welcome to the Valiant."

"It's dawn," she judged by the lack of light coming in from a porthole. She walked over and peered out, "Hold on, I thought this was a ship. Where's the sea?"

"A ship for the 21st century. Protecting the skies of planet Earth," Jack said as they all gathered to look out into the cloudy sky.

~ 0 ~

Renata was pushed into the conference room with the Master and his wife, handcuff free yet still imprisoned, "I don't understand, why am I here?" she hissed at the Master as they were forced to sit down at a table while he and his wife stood.

"You're the one who said you were family, I'm just doing the nice thing and allowing you to see the show," the Master patted her head and moved over to the president.

Renata scowled and glanced up at Lucy, "By 'show' you know he means to _kill_ right?" the blonde human looked away, preferring, as always, not to have conversation with her husband's sister-in-law.

Renata huffed and looked away as well. She could now understand what she'd been like to the Doctor and Martha during her first two weeks in the TARDIS with barely any conversation. Now she wished the only other Time Lord to be around and do something like he always did. Her mind was blank on any ideas and even of she tried improvising she would either be shot down or worse, she would get someone else killed. She had to have confidence that the Doctor would make an appearance and save the day.

The Master walked back to the women with a face, "Misery guts," he remarked of the president, "Misery guts. What do you think? It's good, isn't it?" he pulled out a chair for Lucy.

"It's beautiful," the human remarked in awe as she looked around the room.

"Some of my best work," the Master cockily said and whispered, "Ministry of Defence. I helped design this place," he sat between Lucy and Renata, "Every detail."

Renata fearfully looked at go before turning her head away, wondering how the hell she could ever stop any of this happening.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Martha and Jack were running fast down the maintenance corridors when the Doctor came to a stop at an intersection.

Jack noticed first and forced Martha to stop, "We've no time for sightseeing!" he scolded the Time Lord.

"No, no. Wait. Shh, shh, shh," the Doctor placed a finger on his lips, "Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Doctor, my family's on board," Martha reminded, "And _Renata_ ," she made sure to add knowing that it would likely trigger his haste again. He'd been going crazy with her kidnapping all day and of he was choosing to stop just when they were closest he must be losing his mind.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered and ran down one of the oter corridors, "This way!"

He had found the TARDIS and that would make it all the easier to get Renata back. He quickly opened the doors to reveal the blue box behind and ran up to it, "Oh, at last!"

"Oh, yes!" Even Martha ran excitedly towards it.

"What's it doing on the Valiant?" Jack had to question as the Doctor opened the

doors to reveal a very different console inside, "What the hell's he done?" Jack asked in horror.

"Don't touch it," the Doctor quickly warmed and went around the console which had been taken apart on some of its sides and was trapped in a cage.

"What's he done though?" Martha listened to the noise they could hear, "Sounds like it's… sick."

"Renata, she tried to warn me," the Doctor breathed, remembering the quick words of the blonde he'd managed to grasp from her fast call over the phone.

"Doctor, what is it?" Martha dared to step closer to the caged console.

"He's cannibalized the TARDIS," the Doctor explained.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack had made his assumption based off the certain way the console had been worked on.

"It's a paradox machine," the Doctor swallowed hard.

~ 0 ~

"Two minutes, everyone!" the president announced as he climbed tried steps in the conference room, "According to the treaty, all armed personnel are requested to leave the flight deck immediately. Thank you."

The Master and Lucy watched the area like it was some show they were both fascinated with. The Master held up a small bag to Renata, "Jelly baby?"

Renata wasn't up for any of his teases and so smacked the bag down, "Don't confuse my stillness for acceptance," she spat. The Master glared at her but said nothing.

"Broadcasting at 7:58 with the arrival timed at 0800 precisely. And, uh, good luck to all of us," the president declared to the group with a nervous smile. As soon as the cameras went on, the 'show' started up, and the president was the star...for the moment, "My fellow Americans, patriots, people of the world…I stand before you today as ambassador for humanity, a role I will undertake with utmost solemnity. Perhaps our Toclafane cousins can offer us much, but that is important is not that we gain material benefits, but that we learn to see ourselves anew."

The Doctor, Martha and Jack entered try conference room in time for the airing. The Doctor spotted the blonde he'd been searching for sitting right beside the Master.

"For as long as man has looked to the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone…"

"This plan, you gonna tell us?" Jack whispered to the Doctor.

"If I can get this," the Doctor motioned to the key around his neck, "Around the Master's neck…cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me…you've got a key."

"Yes, sir, Jack gave a small salute.

"I'll get him," Martha promised.

"And I ask you now, I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you the Toclafane," the president looled as the Toclafane appeared around him, "My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President-Elect of the United States of America and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associated moon."

"You're not the Master," one of the spheres picked up.

"We like the Mr Master," the second declared.

"We don't like you," the third spat.

"I… can be Master, if you so wish," the president said in confusion, "I will accept mastery over you if that is God's will.

"Man is stupid."

"Master is our friend."

"Where's my Master, pretty please?"

"Oh, all right then. It's me," the Master graciously stood up, "Ta-da! Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy!"

"Saxon, what are you talkin' about?" the President wasn't amused and demanded to know.

"I'm taking control, Uncle Sam. Starting with you," the Master pointed at him, "Kill him."

Renata couldn't take it and stood up with a small of her hands, "Everybody RUN!" she ordered just as the president was shot and disintegrated by the Toclafane.

Everyone followed Renata's order after the scene but it was too late as the Master called for the guards and stopped them, "Now then, peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully."

The Doctor broke into a run and headed for the Master, but the guards were there, "Stop him!" the Doctor was forced to kneel on the floor.

"We meet at last, Doctor," the Master laughed, "Oh, ho! I love saying that!"

"Stop this! Stop it now!" the Doctor pleaded.

"As if a perception filter's gonna work on me," the Master frowned, "I'm not _you_ ," he cast discreet glance to Renata.

"Please..." Renata stepped forwards, she wasn't quite sure what the ideal plan was for the Doctor anymore, besides having his age in the hands of the Master. Her identity was still a powerful thing the Master was considering using.

"Oh, and look, it's the girlie and the freak. Although, I'm not sure which one's which," the Master had taken a look over to Martha and Jack. As soon as Jack started running towards him, the Master shot him down with a laser, "Laser screwdriver, who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!"

"Master, just calm down," the Doctor tried again, " Just look at what you're doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself…"

The Master took a dramatic sighed and glanced to the cameras that were still on air, "Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business. Back in a minute," he motioned to the guards, "Let him go."

"It's that sound, the sound in your head. What if I could help?" the Doctor insisted, only making the Master laugh.

"Oh, if you really knew," the Master remarked and looked at Renata, his playfulness vanishing "This doesn't compare to some stupid sound. This time it really is...personal," he took a seat in one of the steps facing the Doctor, "Now how to begin, hm? Ren? Any ideas?"

"Don't, please,' Renata cautiously stepped towards them.

"Memory Lane time!" the Master suddenly cheered, "Professor Lazarus. Remember him?" he asked the Doctor, "And his genetic manipulation device? Did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver…But, ooh, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do!" he ran to a silver case and pulled out a screwdriver from it, "I've got his hand! And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Another hundred years?" he aimed the screwdriver at the Doctor and activated it

"No!" Renata cried and ran for them but was held by one of the guards.

Jack revived and looked at the happenings, "Teleport," he handed Martha his manipulator.

"I can't," she shook her head.

"We can't stop him. Get out of here. Get out."

Once the Doctor was left free, he had the body of an aged man. Renata angrily pushed the guard from her and ran towards the two Time Lords.

"What do you gain from this?" she spat at the Master. She helped the Doctor sit up and sighed, "This is all my fault."

"How?" the Doctor asked, managing to be amused even at a time like this, "You were only kidnapped."

The Master barked a laugh, "You think I kidnapped her? That's gold!"

"Shut up!" Renata snapped and stood up, "Don't you dare," she warned.

"Yeah, alright, it'll be far more hurtful if it comes through your lips," he smirked and moved around, "Tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown 'em in all the way from prison..." he began his newest act of evil.

The Jones' family, save for Leo, we're brought into the room l, cuffed and with guards.

"Mum," Martha gasped.

"I'm sorry," Francine sobbed.

"The Toclafane, who are they? Who are they?"the Doctor asked, mostly looking at Renata knowing she would answer.

"This time, I really think your hearts would break," she knelt in front of him. Martha moved over and soon enough the Doctor started whispering something into her ear.

The spheres swarmed around the Master, each speaking out in their childish tones.

"Is it time?"

"Is it ready?"

"Is the machine singing?"

The Master hurried up the steps to where Lucy was, check I his watch, "Two minutes past," he declared and looked at the cameras, "So! Earthings. Basically, um, end of the world. Here…come…the drums!"

The paradox machine was activated and out broke hell, Toclafane firing anywhere and anyone on Earth.

"Remove one-tenth of the population," the Master had the decency to order.

Not a minute later did messages from all over the world start transmitting into the Valiant.

"Valiant, this is Geneva! We're getting slaughtered down here!"

Renata sniffled to herself, "My fault, it's my fault," she repeated and was taken into a hug by the aged Doctor.

_"Help us, for God's sake! Help us! They're everywhere!"_

_"This is London, Valiant! This is London calling! What do we do?!"_

Renata slowly pulled away from the hug when she felt something cold pressed to her hand. She looked down and saw the TARDIS key on her palm. Instantly, she looked at Martha, knowing the idea that had sunk into the Doctor's head. She shook her head silently, she couldn't just leave the Doctor at the mercy of the Master, especially when he was in no condition to fight back.

As if reading her thoughts, the Doctor cupped her face and stared at her in the eyes, mouthing 'go' to her. She could see in his eyes, he just wanted her to be okay, like Martha. She felt a hand on her arm and was promptly pulled up by Martha. Renata took a deep breath and nodded for Martha to activate the manipulator and with a flash disappeared from the Valiant.

They appeared and rolled to a stop on green grass, now on Earth. Renata lifted her head and looked up at the sky, imagining what the Master would (and now could most certaintly do) with the Doctor above.

"Why did you say it was your fault?" Martha asked the blonde as they stood up.

Renata didn't answer right away and looked over the edge where they both saw the destruction of London still ongoing, "Did you ever figure out who my husband's brother was?" she looked at Martha helplessly.

Martha's eyes widened and raised a finger to the sky, Renata silently nodding for an answer. Martha's mind suddenly made the connections and found the necessity to go back to the Doctor and her family. Renata placed a hand over the manipulator to stop the human from going.

"Tell me what the Doctor told you," Renata gently pulled Martha away from the edge, both turning together as theys started walking.

"It's a plan, a plan that could just work," Martha began and eyed the TARDIS key necklace that was the Doctor's now resting on Renata's palm, "Aren't you going to wear that?"

"I have to infuse it to my own filter or it'll cancel out my own perception filter," Renata shuddered a breath, "And right now, that would be the worst thing I could do the Doctor. I won't be his demise, that'd have to happen over my own corpse first, even if it's at the hands of my brother-in-law, nearly brother," Renata gritted her teeth and walked ahead, vowing to return with a plan that would assure the safety of the Doctor.

She got it wrong the first time round, she would not put anyone above him ever again.


	5. The Ultimate Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata and Martha have spent one year on Earth together as they search for a way to end the Master's reign. Over the course of the year, Renata is finally able to make a real friend with the woman she would've never considered.

**1 Year Later.**

Renata and Martha strode down the beach of Britain under the dark sky and were greeted by a young man at the end of their walk. Renata scanned the area to see if the man was truly alone, but the night didn't allow her to do such a good job.

"What's your name, then?" Martha inquired of the man.

"Tom Milligan," the man nodded and glanced at Renata, eyeing her oddly clean appearance, "No need to ask who you are, the famous Martha Jones and the mononymous Renata. How long since you were last in Britain?"

"365 days, it's been a long year," Renata muttered as she looked up at the sky, "Not long now, though," she continued walking.

Martha gave an apologetic smile to Tom and went after Renata, used to the blonde going off like that. Tom caught up with Martha and had to ask, "So what's the plan?"

"This Professor Docherty. We need to see her," Martha explained, "Can you get us there?"

"She works in a repair shed, Nuclear Plant 7. I can get you inside," Tom assured, "What's all this for? What's so important about her?'

Renata glanced back and earnestly spoke, "For your own safety I would advise you to stop asking questions before you get yourself killed," with that, she continued walking.

"Is she always so..." Tom eyed the blonde with reluctance to finish his words.

"She has two important people up there," Martha quietly said and pointed to the sky, "She just wants to get back to them."

"There's a lot of people depending on you two," Tom went on to explain, "You're legends."

"What does the legend say?" Martha decided to ask to pass the time and even for some distraction. Between her and Renata there were more conversations than during the first weeks they'd met, but Renata was beyond focused on getting back to the Doctor and Master that merely anything that didn't have to do with either of them was discarded.

"They say you've sailed the Atlantic, walked across America. That you're the only people to get out of Japan alive. 'Martha Jones, and the mononymous Renata,', they say, 'They're gonna save the world.' Bit late for that."

"Why can you drive?" Renata had stopped when she spotted the truck that belonged to Tom, "What makes you so special that you won't get stopped?"

Tom tried to see her words as something besides condescending, "I'm part of the Medical staff," he explained, "Used to be in pediatrics back in the old days. But that gives me a license to travel so I can help out at the labor camps."

"You just became more interesting," Renata gave a small smirk and headed for the truck.

"She's really not rude," Martha tried to excuse the blonde, "I thought that in the beginning too but...turned out she was a full book of past troubles."

"Hurry up!" Renata called and made Tom chuckle at her impatience.

"And she also likes to take charge," Martha added with a small, amused, sigh.

"You're all rubbish at walking fast," Renata made sure to say as the two humans joined her by the truck, "Humans," she rolled her eyes.

"You're a human," Tom pointed at her, confused.

"No, I _look_ human," Renata corrected, "Keep it a secret, I'm of the same species of the Master and Doctor," at this point, it didn't matter if she told her secret or not. The news would only travel up to the Master and only the Master.

"Then it's true," Tom blinked, "You're the only person on Earth who can kill him. You can kill the Master stone dead, right?"

Renata's eyes snapped to Martha for a second then silently got into the truck.

~ 0 ~

By morning, the trio had reached to the part of the road where cars were no longer pleased. Tom was the first to get out of the truck, "Best to keep down. Here we go," they trio peered over the rock edge and looked below to see varieties of ships and silos for below, "The entire south coast of England…converted into shipyards. They bring in slave labor every morning. Break up cars, houses, anything, just for the metal. Building a fleet out of scrap."

"You should see Russia," Renata muttered, "That's Shipyard Number One," she pointed, "All the way from the Black Sea to the Bering Strait. There's 100,000 rockets ready for war."

"War? With who?" Tom looked at her.

"The rest of the universe," Martha sighed, "We've been out there, Tom. In space. Before all this happened. And there's a thousand different civilizations all around us with no idea of what's happening here. The Master can build weapons big enough to devastate them all."

Tom got stuck with the last words, "You've been in space?"

"Problem with that?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

"No. No, just uh… Wow," Tom blinked, "Anything else I should know?"

"I've met Shakespeare."

Renata rolled her eyes at the two humans, "If you could _focus_ ," she spat at them, "I've got two Time Lords up there that need my help."

Two Toclafane came up behind the trio but only Tom turned to face them, "Identify, little man," the demanded of the human.

"I-I've got a license. Thomas Milligan, Peripatetic Medical Squad. I'm allowed to travel," Tom held up his license, "I was just checking-"

"Soon the rockets will fly and everyone will need medicine. You'll be so busy," the Toclafane laughed as they flew away.

"But, they didn't see you," Tom turned back to the two women.

Martha held out her TARDIS key and Renata held her own necklace which had been infused with the TARDIS key the Doctor had given her a year ago, "How do you think we've traveled the world?" Martha smirked.

Renata stood up and dusted her hands off from the dust, "Ugh, I need to wash my hands," she muttered and turned to the truck.

"How does she stay so... _clean_?" Tom had to ask as he and Martha went behind the blonde back to the truck. Renata was wearing a colorful blouse with short sleeves and paired up with loose, black pants and matching flats. Her hair was was tucked behind her ears with the help of a white headband. In comparison to the others, she was the cleanest thing around for miles.

"For a lack of better words, she's a complete neat freak," Martha said in amusement.

~ 0 ~

"'Cause the Master set up Archangel, that mobile network, 15 satellites around the planet, but really it's transmitting a low-level psychic field. That's how everyone got hypnotized into thinking he was Harold Saxon," Renata was explaining to Tom while they walked.

"Saxon," Tom scoffed, "Feels like years ago."

"But they key's tuned in to the same frequency," Martha added and lifted her TARDIS key, "Makes me sort of…not invisible, just unnoticeable."

"But I can see you."

"That's 'cause you wanted to," Martha smirked.

"Yeah, I suppose I did," Tom shrugged.

Renata once again rolled her eyes, "Oh, brother."

"Is there a _Mrs._ Milligan?" Martha dared to ask.

"No. No. What about you?"

Martha's eyes drifted to the sky, "There used to be someone," her eyes then landed on Renata, knowing that someone would eventually end up with her no matter what.

~ 0 ~

They squeezed through a small hole in a chain-linked fence that led into an open area. They ran across the compound into a small cave-like structure at the end. There was an older woman, professor Docherty, was hitting an old monitor inside.

"Professor Docherty?" Tom called but the woman didn't even look back at them.

"Busy," Docherty snapped.

Renata raised an eyebrow, already disliking the woman even more. Tom cleared his throat, "They, uh, they sent word ahead. I'm Tom Milligan. This is Martha Jones and Renata."

"They can be the Queens of Sheba for all I care. I'm still busy."

Renata snapped and walked ahead, snatching the nearlike hammer Docherty was using and banged the monitor with all her Time Lady might, making the screen give a small staticy noise before working, "And now you're not," Renata let the hammer drop the ground.

She was usually a woman of patience, had to with the kind of works she had in the past, but the year had altered her with the time she'd spent with Martha alone and thinking.

"My people," the Master's voice cut through her thoughts as the transmission began on the TV, "Salutations on this, the eve of war. Lovely woman. But I know there's all sorts of whispers down there. Stories of women, walking the Earth, giving you hope," the Master stepped to the side where the aged Doctor was, "But I ask you…how much hope has this man got? Say hello, Gandalf. Except he's not that old but he's an alien with a much greater lifespan than you stunted, little apes. What if it showed? What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate?"

"No, oh no," Renata covered her mouth, "Oh he can't..."

"All 900 years of your life, Doctor. What if we could see them?" the Master went ahead and used the screwdriver on the Doctor, once again making the Doctor writh and scream in pain as he aged even more, "Older and older and older. Down you go, Doctor."

"No, stop!" Renata cried, knowing all her cries were in vain. Martha moved over to her side, putting a hand on Renata's arm while they both watched the Doctor fall to the floor.

Eventually, the Master stopped and there was silence everywhere. The Master bent down and the camera panned down to allow the viewers to see only the Doctor's clothes on the floor. Slowly, a large domed head peered out, its large eyes blinking. The Master stood up and faced the camera, "Received and understood, _Renata_?"

Renata groaned loudly with exasperation, "Too far, he's gone too far!"

"Obviously the Archangel Network would seem to be… the Master's greatest weakness," Doherty quietly said, "15 satellites all around Earth, still transmitting. That's why there's so little resistance. It's broadcasting a telepathic signal that keeps people scared."

"We could just take them out," Tom suggested.

"We could," the professor agreed, "15 ground-to-air missiles. You got any on you? Besides, any military action, the Toclafane descend."

"They're not Toclafane," Martha cut in, "That's a name the Master made up."

"Then what are they, then?"

Martha glanced at Renata, the blonde slowly coming back to the present. Renata knew, of course she knew, she was with the Master and she admitted it to Martha a long time ago...but she refused to say what they were.

"That's why we came to find you," Martha declared finally. Renata wouldn't say anything but she wasn't stopping Martha from finding out. Apart from that, it was just part of the plan with the professor, "Know your enemy. I've got this," Martha pulled out a computer CD, "No one's been able to look at a sphere close up. They can't even be damaged. Except once. The lightening strike in South Africa brought one of them down. Just by chance. We've got the readings on this."

Docherty took the disc and placed it into the computer, once again banging it a couple times before it got work, "Oh, whoever thought we'd miss Bill Gates," she sighed.

"So is that why you travelled the world? To find a disc?" Tom raised an eyebrow at Martha, sounding a bit...disappointed.

"No," it was Renata who answered, "She just got lucky."

"I heard stories that you walked the Earth to find a way to build a weapon," Docherty studied the two women, making them both remember their final moments in the Valient, "There!" Docherty pointed at the screen, "A current of 58.5 kilo amperes transferred charge of 510 megajoules precisely."

"Can you recreate that?" Tom wondered.

"I think so. Easily, yes."

"All right then, Dr Milligan, we're gonna get us a sphere," Marts smirked and looked at Renata, giving her one last chance to speak up.

"It's going to break your heart," was the blonde's final comment on the subject.

It was fairly easy getting a sphere when you're human and not supposed to have a weapon. They'd caught one of the spheres and brought it back to the professor's lab for study.

"There's some sort of magnetic clamp. Hold on, I'll just trip the," Docherty was currently trying to get into the sphere when the clamp on it opened up and allowed her to open the sides like petals, "Oh my God!"

The humans and Renata peered inside to find a widened human head attached to the machinery inside. Lights came on and the head opened its eyes, startling everyone except Renata who only stared.

"It's alive," Docherty gawked.

"Of course it's alive," Renata quietly said, cautiously reaching to put a hand on one of the petals.

"Renata, what are they?" Martha asked a final time, hoping the blonde would see there was no point in keeping it from her anymore.

But the sphere beat Renata to the answer, "Martha. Martha Jones."

"It knows you," Tom blinked, even Renata was slightly confused.

"Sweet, kind Martha Jones. You helped us to fly."

"What do you mean?" Martha stepped closer

"You led us to salvation," the sphere continued, "And Renata, you were part of the salvation. You helped."

Renata's eyes were filled with tears, " _I_ did not do _this_ ," her fingers touched the cool metal of the sphere and she shivered.

"Who are they, Renata?" Martha demanded from the Time Lady, stepping right beside her.

"The skies are made of diamonds."

Martha's eyes widened as she heard that and stared at the sphere, "No...you can't be him," she glanced to Renata in full blown tears, "Renata?"

"There was nothing I could do," the blonde began making Martha gasp, "Everything was cold and dark, everyone screaming as creation tore itself down and I...I thought the Master was doing good..."

"What are they?" Docherty looked between the two frantic women.

Martha looked back at the others, "They're us. They're humans. The human race from the future."

"The Utopia Project was the last hope. Trying to find a way to escape the end of everything," Renata breathed as she remembered the awful images in her head of when they'd discovered what Utopia had really been like.

"There was no solution, no diamonds. Just the dark and the cold," the sphere related.

"With nothing else to do they cannibalized themselves..."

"We made ourselves so pretty," the sphere said rather cheerfully.

"Regressing into children, I'm afraid," Renata sighed, "But it didn't work. The universe was collapsing around them."

"But then the Master came with his wonderful time machine to bring us back home."

"It wasn't his machine in the first place," Renata mumbled then looked at Martha, "I thought the Master would be doing good, bringing the spheres somewhere new, but..." she shook her head, "...I was dead wrong."

"But that's a paradox," Docherty spoke up, "If you're the future of the human race, and you've come back to murder your ancestors, you should cancel yourselves out. You shouldn't exist."

"And that's the paradox machine the Master converted the TARDIS into," Renata muttered, "But he's not stopping with Earth, no, he's working on the entire universe. Humans and aliens...all of them."

"But why kill your own ancestors?" Tom had to ask, confused of many things but primarily that.

"Because it's fun!" cheered the sphere. Tom didn't waste a thought and shot it dead.

"I think it's time we had the truth, Miss Jones and...whatever your name is," Docherty ordered, eyeing Renata more suspiciously, "The legend says you've travelled the world to find a way of killing the Master. Tell us, is it true?"

"Just before we escaped, the Doctor told me a plan," Martha began and looked at Renata, "And then she relayed more of it."

"Her? How?" Docherty studied Renata from head to toe.

"The Doctor and the Master, have been coming to Earth for years and they've been watched," Renata sighed, "And I know it because they used to tell me whenever they would return home, our home."

"She's one of them," Tom went ahead and told the professor, leaving her surprised.

"The Master is my family, he's my brother in law," Renata sighed, "And I've known him my entire life, lives. Both him and the Doctor, at different points of times, would tell me of this organization, UNIT, and lately Torchwood, and how they would study Time Lords in secret."

"They made this. The ultimate defence," Martha pulled out a small, black case which revealed a special gun.

"All you need to do is get close. I can shoot the Master dead with this," Tom held hid gun out, much to Docherty's dismay.

"Actually, you can put that down now, thank you very much," she ordered.

"Point is, it's not so easy to kill a Time Lord. They can regenerate; literally bring themselves back to life," Martha continued.

"Ah, the Master's immortal. Wonderful," Docherty scoffed and shook her head.

"No creature is truly immortal," Renata clarified, "We can die if we choose not to regenerate or if we're injured during regeneration or..." she closed her mouth and looked to the side.

Martha continued for her, "Except for this," she picked up the special gun, "Four chemicals, slotted into the gun, inject him…kills a Time Lord permanently."

"Four chemicals? You've only got three," Tom pointed to the chemicals in their slots.

"Still need the last one 'cause the components of this gun were kept safe, scattered across the world. And We found them. San Diego, Beijing, Budapest and London."

"Then where is it?"

"There's an old UNIT base, north London. We've found the access codes," Renata had recomposed herself, "Tom, you've got to get us there."

"We can't go across London in the dark. It's full of wild dogs; we'd get eaten alive. We can wait till the morning, then go with the medical convoy."

"You can spend the night here, if you like," Docherty offered them.

"No, we can get halfway, stay at the slave quarters in Bexley. Professor, thank you," Tom had the idea and shook Docherty's hand.

"Good luck," Docherty nodded

"Thanks," Martha gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Martha, Renata, could you do it? Could you actually kill him?"

Martha looked over to Renata for her response but the blonde remained silent, "Got no choice," Martha sighed

"You might be many things, but you don't look like a killer to me," Docherty commented to Martha then glanced at Renata, "And if it's true of what you said about the Master, being family, you're less than likely to kill him as well."

Renata only gave a look and walked off, leaving Martha and Tom to go after her.

~ 0 ~

With Tom's assistance, they were able to sneak into one of the houses that were patrolled by the Master's guards. And the first thing the people inside the house did was, well...

"Did you bring food?"

Tom was facing a woman, the one who'd let them in, and sighed "Couldn't get any. And I'm starving."

"All we've got is water," the woman sighed.

Renata looked around and her hearts broke upon seeing children in the rooms, practically starving because of the Master, "I am so sorry," she couldn't do anything else but apologize.

Martha put a hand on her arm and lightly smiled, "It's not your fault, Renata. It's been a year and I've talked to you about it, about _all_ of it."

"I know, I know," the blonde agreed, "But these people, all of you, if I had been braver...I could've stopped the Master. But bravery and decisiveness have never really been one of my things. Now he's got all of you packed into houses like...I'm sorry."

"Why do you blame yourself?" the woman who'd let them in questioned Renata.

"Cos the Master is part of my family and I didn't stop him," Renata shuddered a breath and shamefully looked down while everyone else looked at her with wide eyes from her revelation.

"But you can still kill him," a young boy spoke up, making her head snap up in horror, "Cos you're Renata, and she's Martha Jones, the legend says you can kill the Master."

"You're too young to be talking about that," Renata's eyes teared up, "Please...not you."

"Come on, just leave her alone," Tom studied the blonde, "She's exhausted."

"That's not it," Martha mumbled as she hugged Renata, "Why not do what we do best, hm?" she whispered to Renata who silently nodded and pulled away from the hug.

"Do you want to hear a story?" Renata asked the young boy, "A good story, I promise," she wiped her face from tears. She smiled as the young boy nodded excitedly.

~ 0 ~

Renata and Martha were sitting on the stairs surrounded by everyone in the house, all listening to the two women telling that good story Renata had promised.

"We've travelled across the world, from the ruins of New York to the fusion mills of china, right across the radiation pits of Europe," Martha was going on. And everywhere I went, I saw people just like you, living as slaves.

"And if Martha Jones and Renata became legends, then that's wrong because our names aren't important," Renata began smiling softly as her mind wandered, "There's someone else. There's a man who sent us here. He told Martha and I to walk the Earth. His name is the Doctor. He has saved your lives so many times, and you never even knew he was there. H'es never stopped, you know, not for one single moment. When were back home, on our planet, he used to come back and tell all his friends about his adventures. And he never stopped..." her smile faded a bit, "...and he never stayed. But, he never asked to be thanked. I may not have been there with him from the beginning but I know him down to the core. I've seen him, I trusted him and I lo..." she paused for a moment and pretended to nick out some dirt from under her nail, "I know what he can do, and so does Martha," she looked at her human friend.

Martha smiled and agreed, knowing exactly how her last sentence would've been if she'd finished it. Still, she'd never push Renata to say something she wasn't so comfortable with just _yet_.

The woman that had allowed them in, now identified as Jana, pushed her way through the crowd, "It's him! It's him!" she cried frantically, alarming everyone, "Oh my God, it's him! It's the Master! He's here!"

"But he never comes to Earth! He never walks upon the ground!" the boy Renata had promised the story to, a young Elias, stood up.

"Hide them!" Janan pointed at the two travelers.

"Use this!" Tom chucked a blanket.

"No," Renata tried to say but was quickly covered up along with Martha.

"Martha. Martha Jo-hones," the Master called from the streets, "My dear Ren? Do you honestly believe you can hide from me anymore? Out you come your adulterous woman."

At that, Renata threw away the blanket over her and Martha to stand up, "I may just kill him," she muttered as she stomped her way downt he stairs, ignoring the calls from the others.

"Renata? Are you sure?" Martha eyed the shut door the blonde stood in front of.

"It's time, Martha," Renata shuddered a breath, "It's time to face my 'punisher'," she did air quotation marks then stepped out.

Martha threw her TARDIS key and hurried after Renata. The Master was waiting outside with several guards and the 'Toclafane', ready to shoot if it had been neccessary, which the Master knew it wouldn't be.

"Oh, yes," the Master clapped at the sight of the two women, "Oh, very well done! Still got some decency left, Ren."

"Oh let's not talk about decency," snapped Renata.

The Master's smile vanished as he held his hand out, "Bag. Give me the bag. No," he stopped the women from walking, "Stay there. Just throw it," Martha chucked the pack she'd been carrying. The Master fired a laser and destroyed it completely, "And now, good companion, your work his done," he held the laser to Martha.

Tom ran out the house with a gun aimed at the Master, "No!" but the Master shot him before he did anything.

"You won't do such thing," Renata stepped in front of Martha, "Will you my dear brother in law?"

The Master inhaled deeply as he considered his options, "When you die, the Doctor should be witness," he promised.

"Yeah, that's it," Renata rolled her eyes, loving the excuse for his derailment.

~ 0 ~

The Master stood at the head of the Valiant's conference room where the Jones family and the Doctor, now locked in a cage to fit his miniature size, waited on.

"Citizens of Earth, rejoice and observe," the Master pointed to the door across the door just as it opened up to reveal Renata and Martha being 'escorted' by guards.

The Master indicated for Renata to be brought directly up to him. The blonde woman shook the guards' grip off her and threatened them with glares to leave her alone. She made the rest of the trip on her own and came face to face with the Master.

"Teleport device," the Master held his hand out, "In case your thought I'd forgotten."

"We didn't plan on using it," Renata informed as she looked at Martha who was taking out the manipulator, "Cos you and I have some unfinished business."

"Kneel," the Master ordered Martha.

" _No_ ," Renata snapped and stood up from the table.

The Master frowned, "I said _kneel_."

"And I said _no_ ," Renata repeated with the same loudness he was using.

"Renata," the Master gritted his teeth and stepped towards her. "I have two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the universe."

"Well you might as well kiss it goodbye because I'm not letting that happen," Renata crossed her arms.

"And you're going to stop me?" now the Master was amused, "The adulter-"

"I am _not_ an adulter!" Renata screamed, leaving him quiet for a moment while leaving everyone else stunned, "One year ago you did everything in your power to blame me for all of _this_ ," she violently pointed around the room, "But _this_ , this was not _me_. This was _you_ -" she jabbed her finger into his shoulder. "Yes, I did something wrong but I will never be like you. _You_ are no one to judge me," she laughed bitterly, "You, out of all people, judging me for a sin? A year ago I was a coward but now, now I just think this ironic."

"Shut up or you die first," the Master warned her, frustrated that he was losing his control over the situation.

"Do it, then," Renata stepped back with her arms opened, ready to take impact.

"I'll tell him, I'll tell him right now what's going on..."

" _Do it_ ," Renata challenged him and smirked when nothing happened, "One year ago, you warned me you would kill me and I was so daft I actually believed you. So I was confused when you delayed it...but now I get it," she stepped closer, nearly face to face with the Time Lord, "It's the last shred of decency you have: you _can't_ kill me. Cos no matter what's been done or said, I'm still family. I'm still the woman your brother loved, I'm still his wife, I'm still your sister in law..."

"Ren..." the Master blinked when he saw her reaching for her perception filter necklace, "...you can't do that, you can't!" he frowned, looking at the Doctor who was more confused than shocked of what had been said, "You can't! He'd feel it!"

"I'm done hiding," Renata whispered and yanked her necklace off, chucking it to the floor and allowing her true identity to flow into the Doctor's mind and even the Master's.

Instantaneously, the Doctor could feel the third presence of his kind inside his mind. While been altered, he could still feel Renata as what she truly was, a Time Lady. It was warm and kind of a ticklish feeling. He supposed that was why he kept coming back to her before, because even though his mind couldn't connect to hers, his hearts had already done so.

Renata looked at the Master with new light in her eyes, "We are the last of our kind, we owe it to our home to be together, not to fight," she slowly glanced at the Doctor with tearful eyes, "...if a certain Time Lord isn't too upset with this ole bitter woman for her attitude before," the Doctor smiled at her and unbeknownst filled her hearts with warmth. "I _am_ sorry."

"That will _never_ happen," the Master broke through the moment and made Renata look at him, "You traveled the world just to kill me."

Renata barked a small laughter, "A gun? Are you seriously that stupid?"

"What?"

"A gun in four parts?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh c'mon, you're far too smart to believe something like that."

"What are you going on about?" the Master demanded and looked back to Martha, "What did you do?"

"As if I would ask them to kill," the Doctor spoke up.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter-"

"Oh it matters," Renata cut in, "Because we knew exactly what Professor Docherty would do. The Resistance knew about her son. We told her about the gun, so she'd get me here. At the right time."

"What? So you can give your big ole speech?"

Renata rolled her eyes and looked back at Martha, "You wanna take this one?"

"We traveled the world only to tell a _story_ ," the human began, "That's all. No weapons, just words. We did just what the Doctor said. We went across the continents all on our own. And everywhere we went, we found the people, and we told them our story. We told them about the Doctor. And we told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor."

"Faith and hope? Is that all?" the Master scoffed, already belittling the stupid plan.

"I may not be genius but I know a good plan when I see it," Renata smirked, "We gave them an instruction, the one instruction the Doctor told Martha. We used the countdown," she eyed big clock the Master had on the wall, "Never could resist a countdown, huh?" she stepped back to where Martha stood, "We told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time—"

"Nothing will happen!" the Master cut in angrily, "Is that your weapon?! Prayer?!"

"Right across the world. One word, just one thought, at one moment… but with 15 satellites!" Martha exclaimed, growing excited as she watched the countdown go down and down.

"The Archangel Network," Jack spoke up with a small smirk.

"The telepathic field binding the whole human race together," Renata continued, "The one you created, remember? And with all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time. And that word…is Doctor."

"You didn't..." the Master looked at the Doctor who now had a glowing field ring around him, the countdown having reached zero.

"You forced me to do it," Renata quietly said, sadness filling her tone.

"Stop it. No, no, no, no, you don't!"

Jack closed her eyes, "Doctor."

Francine followed, "Doctor.

"Stop this right now! Stop it!" the Master ordered, knowing everyone was following the instruction.

Even Lucy his wife closed her eyes, "Doctor."

"Doctor," Martha went next.

"Renata..." the Master pointed at her, being the only one left with her eyes still open, "...remember Elek, you better remember him."

"I do, I remember him every day," she nodded, "Even if you don't believe me, I do. But you've gone far, very far with this, and it's time to end it," with that, she closed her eyes, "Doctor," she whispered.

"NO!" the Master yelled and shook her, wanting to force her to reopen her eyes.

His attention was driven over to the Doctor who'd broken from his cage and was returning to an old man with the field around him, "I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices."

"I order you to stop!" the Master shouted but the Doctor continued to revert back into his original self.

"The one thing you can't do. Stop them thinking," the Doctor smirked, "Tell me the human race is degenerate now when they can do this."

Martha ran to her family and hugged them all happily. The Master tried using his laser on the Doctor but it was deflected with the field.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor began, honestly meaning his words.

"Then I'll kill them!" the Master directly turned to Martha and her family, choosing voluntarily to ignore Renata only a mere few feet away from him. But the Doctor used the field and chucked the laser across the room.

"You can't do this! You can't do—It's not fair!" the Master angrily backed away.

"And you know what happens now."

"No! No! No!"

"You wouldn't listen."

"No!"

"Because you know what I'm going to say."

"No!" the Master curled into a fetal position as the Doctor finally neared him, landing swiftly on his feet and walked over to him, hugging him.

"I forgive you," the Doctor concluded.

"My children!"

Renata's eyes widened as she remembered, "Captain Jack," she turned around frantically, "Stop the paradox machine, now!"

Jack nodded and the guards that had been holding him suddenly turned on the good side, "You mean, with me!" he ran out the room with them.

"No!" Renata heard the Doctor say and turned around in time to see both him and the Master disappear in a flash.

"NO!" the blonde cried and ran to where they'd just been, "Oh God, they'll kill each other!"

"No, they wouldn't," Martha hurried up to her, "And you know, cos you know both of them," she reminded.

"Right," Renata slowly nodded and looked around, "Right then," she rose her voice, "Guess all this falls to my control now..." she dashed for the stairs and went to the glass windows, "The spheres are coming in, all six billion of them. I've got no idea how to stop it."

"Some commander," Martha managed to joke at that time.

"Well I'm no Master nor Doctor," Renata went down the stairs, "I'm the mother hen, I take care of people, anyone and everyone. That's me, that's Renata."

"And that's the woman that got us here," Martha assured her, "You've dealt with the Master, you've taken care of him, so you know what he's likely to do next."

"Warn the Doctor he'd kill everything, including himself when it's a bland lie," Renata recited, "He'd never destroy himself."

And as if it was on cue, the Doctor and Master reappeared back on the ship, completely unharmed.

"I'll kill both of you!" she spun around to them angrily and went for them, "And regeneration won't be an option!"

Just as she reached them, the ship rocked, the paradox now broken curtesy of Jack. All its inhabitants were thrown around, Renata slipping back only to be caught by the Doctor. Both smiled at each other, something Martha caught with bitter-sweetness.

"Everyone down!" the Doctor ordered everyone in the room as they all fell to the floor, "Time is reversing!" time slowly came to a stop and left the ship still. The Doctor jumped to his feet and checked the controls, "The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning," he turned on the comms.

_"This is UNIT Central. What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!"_

"You see?" the Doctor faced the group, "Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was."

"What about the spheres?" Martha wondered.

"Trapped at the end of the universe."

"But I remember it," Francine spoke up, confused on the matter.

"Because we're at the eye of the storm," Renata glanced at her, "We'll be the only ones who'll ever know."

"Oh, hello! You must be Mr Jones! We haven't actually met," the Doctor had spotted Martha's father and went to greet him like nothing had ever happened, like an entire year had never occurred.

"Woah, big fella!" Jack's voice made everyone turn to find the Master having tried an escape only to be caught by the immortal man, "You don't want to miss the party. Cuffs," Jack was handed cuffs from one of the gaurds and used them to cuff the Master's hands behind his back, "So, what do we do with this one?"

Everyone had the same response for that little question.

"We kill him," Clive gritted his teeth.

"We execute him," Tish supported.

"Over my dead bodies," Renata cut in and glared, challenging them to say something.

"That's not the solution," the Doctor agreed with her.

"Oh, I think so," Francine clicked the gun she held aimed at the Master, "'Cause all those…things, they still happened because of him. I saw them."

"Go on, do it!" the Master taunted her.

"Don't do it, please," Renata softly spoke to the woman, "I know what he's done is awful, plain awful but he's my family. Blood or not, I still love him. Plus, you're kinda better than him," she slowly reached for the gun, "I promise you I will not allow him to hurt anyone, not this time," she successfully made the human drop the gun and watched Martha take her mother into a hug.

"You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?" the Master genuinely wondered what the answer would be.

"You're my responsibility from now on," Renata turned to him, "Cos you may have been the older brother but Elek was always looking after you, and that's what I plan on doing."

"That's what _we'll_ do," the Doctor spoke up and looked at her, "You should've told me," he mumbled to her and sighed, "We're each other's responsibilities now."

"You can't trust him," Jack went over to the two.

"No. The only safe place for him is the TARDIS," the Doctor came up with the idea.

"You mean you're just gonna…keep me?" the Master frowned, "You and her?" he eyed both Time Lords then stared at Renata, "Have you no shame?"

"I wouldn't talk," Renata bitterly remarked, "I'm not the one who slaughtered countries nor kept one of my own kind trapped in a cage. What I did, I did out of love. You've got no words to say about that."

Suddenly, a gunshot rang and the Master staggered backwards. Everyone frantically searched for the source of the gun and found Lucy holding the gun, not very lucid but enough to know what she'd done.

"NO!" Renata cried and ran for the Master, along with the Doctor.

"Put it down," Jack took the gun from Lucy and made sure the guards were with her.

"No, no, no," Renata repeated as the Doctor helped her lower the Master to the floor in a gentle way to keep him from getting more harmed. Renata cradled his head as she did her best not cry.

"Always the women," the Master had the decency to spat at her.

"Shut up, that's not the same," Renata muttered.

"This was the plan, Ren? My dying?"

"No, no, don't say that. You're god awful but your my family, you're a friend," she looked at the Doctor beside her who nodded silently, "You're stupid and...you were like my brother, remember? You used to bug the hell out of me and my sister."

"Regenerate," the Doctor spoke up, "It's only a bullet," he pointed out, "Just regenerate."

" _No_."

"But it's one little bullet," Renata said in confusion, "Come on!"

" _This_ is your punishment," the Master went directly for Renata, "The best kind of all."

"No, please, not that," Renata sniffled, "I lost everyone and now you're willingly going to die? Please, _regenerate_!"

"And spend the rest of my life watching you two?" he frowned, "I don't think so."

"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this," the Doctor shook his head, "You and me, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only two left, there's no one else. Regenerate!"

"Best punishment for the both of you," the Master continued, "I win..."

Renata broke into sobs as she lost the last piece of family she had left. The Doctor couldn't control his own tears and put an arm around Renata as they both mourned their last friend.

~ 0 ~

Renata was sat on a park bench reading from her journal, though her reading really wasn't what she was doing. She'd finished the Master's burning pyre with the Doctor only a couple hours ago and there was no easy to way to move on from everything. She'd been alone for so many years that she'd gotten used to it. Then, she meets the Doctor and soon enough the Master...only to lose once again. She supposed the only thing she did gain was a friend, Martha. Over the year that never happened, Martha had managed to make Renata speak about everything, what truly happened in the past. She was the one who convinced Renata to believe the Master's doings hadn't been her fault like the Master had always told her. Renata couldn't believe she'd misjudged Martha so much in the beginning and quite frankly felt like she owed her a huge apology.

"You should burn that thing," a voice startled her, and Renata looked up to see Martha standing at the side of the bench.

Martha was also aware of the journal Renata kept during her tenure in the 20th century.

"I can't," Renata whispered, slowly closing said journal and holding it to her chest, "It's a part of me."

"A part of your _past_ ," Martha corrected, "What happened, happened. There is no point in tormenting yourself about it, especially when it was something pure."

"The Master could've been what ever you wanted to call him but he was right about one thing, I betrayed my husband. He may have been my betrothed at the time but falling in love with the Doctor was still infidelity, no matter what perspective you may look at it from."

"And what would be the point in thinking about it _now_?" Martha raised an eyebrow, "He's gone, you're single now, no strings attached."

"Do you honestly believe I would _go for it_?" Renata looked up at the human with a scowl on her face, "That would be completely inappropriate, wrong, utterly wrong for me to..."

Martha assumed by the breaking of the conversation that the blonde wasn't entirely sure, "I think you should come to the TARDIS, sort your head out and then talk to the Doctor."

"No, I can't do that," Renata shook her head, "I've revealed I'm a Time Lady, that's enough."

"Okay, so you take baby steps," Martha resolved, "Get to know him, it'll probably help you sort out your feelings too."

"Martha...I can't..." Renata softly looked at her, "...especially when I know how you feel about him. You're the only friend I've managed to make for real, the one human I've ever confided in entirely. I've betrayed someone once, I will not do it again."

Martha was touched Renata had that much consideration for her, despite after their tense beginning. And she was right, Martha did still love the Doctor and she would want nothing more than to be corresponded...but she knew reality, and she knew what was justice. "Come with me," Martha picked Renata from the bench.

"But where are we going?" the blonde confusedly asked Martha as she was practically dragged down the park.

"Somewhere you ought to be," was Martha's response, already knowing what she was going to do next.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was busy setting the TARDIS back to normal, making sure the controls were how they were supposed to be. He'd materialized in front of Martha's family's home after leaving Captain Jack back in Cardiff. Martha had gone off to find Renata who'd specifically declared she wanted to be left alone. And he knew better than to anger her more after everything that had happened, though he was still mighty confused (and yet completely ecstatic) to find out she was a Time Lady. He only wished he could've learned it under different circumstances.

"Doctor," Martha's voice called him out his thoughts and made him turn to find her pulling Renata inside the TARDIS.

"Renata," the Doctor breathed and immediately rushed for her but skidded to a stop when he remembered there may still be a possibility that she didn't want to be near him.

Renata sensed his reluctance through their telepathic binding. She'd made no effort to build up walls in her mind, save for their past he was still in the dark about. She handed her journal to Martha and then slowly went for the Doctor, coming to a stop inches from him where they both had a mini-stare down. Suddenly, Renata let out a small sniffle and the two last Time Lords hugged each other tightly.

Martha watched from the doors as the moment passed and took a small sigh, glancing down at the journal she held. She knew what she had to next, what she genuinely wanted to do next. She cleared her throat and sheepishly smiled as Renata and the Doctor ended their hug to look over at her.

The Doctor grew ecstatic as he realized he would more than likely have Renata coming with him and Martha, "Right then! Off we go! The open road! There is a burst of starfire right now over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Oh, the sky is like oil on water. Fancy a look? Or…back in time. We could…I don't know, Charles II? Henry VIII? I know! What about Agatha Christie? I'd love to meet Agatha Christie! I bet she's brilliant!" but he noticed Martha's expressions and instantly knew what was happening next, "Okay..." he saw nothing to do.

"I just can't," Martha honestly said.

"No, Martha," Renata came towards her, knowing her decision had been because of what she'd learned, "Please, don't-"

"Hey," Martha smiled, "I've spent all these years training to be a doctor. Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them."

"Of course not but..." Renata didn't want her to go, especially because of her.

Martha handed the journal back to Renata, "It's time to let go," she said for both of them, "And I think it's the best thing both of us can do, don't you think?"

Renata opened her mouth but no words came out. Instead, the Doctor took over as he walked towards them, "Thank you," he hugged Martha, "You saved the world."

"Well, _we_ saved the world," Martha winked at Renata who gave a mere smile, "I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best," she looked at the Doctor, "But you know what? I am _good_. You gonna be alright though, cos now you have someone who's always going to be there for you."

"But I..." Renata looked between her and the Doctor, "...I can't...no..."

Martha motioned for the Doctor to come closer with a finger and promptly whispered, "If you need to, throw her over your shoulder again and kidnap her one more time."

" _Martha_ ," Renata scolded lightly.

"I mean it," Martha wagged a finger then kissed the Doctor on the cheek, "Right then," she smiled and then walked out.

Renata couldn't just let it end like that and hurried after the human, "Martha, wait!" she ran out just as Martha turned around and ended up crashing into her, "Woah," Renata rubbed her forehead, "Martha!" she quickly sobered, "Y-you can't leave, you can't leave just because of me. Please, don't do this to me, don't torment me with more guilt."

"Honestly, I think I would be doing this whether you were here or not," Martha confessed, "It just so happens that now I have an even bigger motivation. Please, please, _please_ record his reaction when you tell him," she pleaded anxiously.

"I can't tell him...it's not-"

"Renata, give up the past," Martha whispered and hugged her, "Do it for yourself, above all just do it for yourself please," Renata didn't say anything as Martha pulled away, "And here," she tossed Renata her phone, "Cos when I call, I better get word that you've told him everything and you're now happy and moved on from the past."

"So I'm just supposed to get into that box and travel with the Doctor?" Renata blinked, "What?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Martha nodded and let out a laugh as she reached for the doors and practically pushed Renata inside, quickly shutting the doors and leaning on them for a good moment, smiling to herself.

She felt good, honestly. Happy.

Inside the TARDIS was a very troubled Renata holding Martha's cellphone in one hand while her other held her journal. A clearing of a throat made her look up to find the Doctor by the console, facing her completely, "So then, do I have to kidnap you again?" he activated the de-materializing switch on the console and waited for an answer.

Renata let out a small smile, "That depends..." she slowly put her journal behind her back, her hearts pinging with the smile the Doctor gave her, "...where exactly would you take me?"

The Doctor tilted his head as he considered the first place he could take her...when they both heard the sounds of a ship's horn. The TARDIS took a blow on its side and knocked the two Time Lords to the floor as a very good amount of wall broke down. The Doctor lifted his head to find the bow of an ocean liner through the wall.

"What?" he coughed and looked at Renata who was staring at the ship with wide eyes. He noticed a life preserver near him and reached for it, "What?" he turned the preserver over and found the word ' _Titanic_ ' written over it, "... _what_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P. S: I have created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	6. A First Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata and the Doctor spend their very first Christmas together but unfortunately. Renata even confides some of her secrets in a certain waitress who couldn't be more confused with the story...and the couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realized that I skipped a chapter in the Utopian trilogy and I just uploaded the missing chapter. It's now chapter 4 'The Sounds of Betrayal'. Go back and check it out!
> 
> P. S: I created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.

After gathering their selves from the unexpected ship crash, Renata and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS into what seemed like a supply room. As the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors, Renata wandered to the supply room's door and opened it up, poking her head out into a small corridor, "We should get out..." she started stepping back.

"N-n-n-n-n-no, see, when someone crashes into the TARDIS, the correct action is wandering out," the Doctor gave her a smirk and tugged her out into the corridors.

"But we could get in trouble," she looked around the corridor fearing someone would walk in.

"We're just _looking_ ," was the Doctor's defence as he pulled her down the corridor.

They came into a wood-paneled room decorated with a Christmas edge. There were people dressed in fancy 21st Century attire, waiters passing out hors d'oeuvres while Jingle Bells was playing in the background by a small band. All in all, it was an elegant party.

The Doctor led Renata up to two golden angels dressed in white, only taking a short moment to realize they were robots. They then moved over to a small window where they both looked out and were surprised to find outer space on the other side.

"Right," the Doctor realized it was another Valiant type of ship, a cruise.

_'Attention all passengers. The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: Human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas.'_

~ 0 ~

Renata thought about her journal and its content as she waited in the console room for the Doctor to return. Martha had told her to burn it and move on, but how could she? Should she? Did she want to? Those were very good questions that she truly had no answers to just yet. She didn't even know what she felt, honestly. It was too much after a whole year...that never was.

For the moment, she had to prepare her answers for when the Doctor started asking her about her true self and that alone would be trouble for her.

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor hurriedly came into the console room, dressed in his usual black suit. "I may have sworn to throw this suit away after very unlucky events prior to thisss..." his words had slurred when he'd looked up to the blonde, her different appearance captivating him instantaneously.

Little did he know he'd provoked the same reaction from Renata as well.

"You're um, you look, uh..." she began, feeling a blush start on her face. She always did like when he wore suits, well dining suits considering he now wore them casually as his style, "...really, really, good," she finished quietly, hoping she hadn't overstepped her boundaries.

"Thanks, but believe me I don't think anyone can compare to you," the Doctor tried sounding casual, even though it really wasn't.

Renata wore a long, evening gown in the shade of a yellow gold. Its embroidered bodice was of gold and white flecks with a shiny, gold skirt reaching down to her feet pulled up to her ankle thanks to the gold heels she wore underneath. Her bateau neckline had a vertical white-striped pattern until it stopped at the chest. At the hemline of the skirt was two revealing laced lines going around, showing her ankles. Her hair was set down to its natural length mid-waist with only a white clip holding a side of her hair.

He was reminded of their little 'date' in 1913 and could almost say it felt nearly the same the last time he'd seen her all dressed up. She looked lovely...

~ 0 ~

Renata and the Doctor walked into a reception room, now all dressed up to fit in, and while the Doctor fiddled with his bow tie, Renata moved over to a screen where a bald man was speaking in a video, "Max Capricorn Cruiseliners - the fastest, the farthest, the best. And I should know because my name is Max."

As his gold tooth glinted, Renata made a face, "Bit flashy, mind you," she had to comment. She gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder then heard the Doctor chuckle, "That wasn't funny," she scolded.

"Why are you so jumpy?" the Doctor curiously followed her towards the entrance doors of another room.

"Uh, maybe because we're not supposed to be here?" she stopped walking and accidentally bumped into him while turning.

"Are you that scared of breaking the rules?"

"The rules are placed to keep everything in order, to, uh, to make sure everyone is safe," she tried to make her words as clear as possible because she knew the Doctor was the ultimate rule breaker, "And right now, we're breaking them. I'm sure a lot of people paid a lot of money to be on this cruise and now we're waltzing in for free-"

"Merry Christmas, sir, ma'am," a steward happened to pass by and nearly gave Renata a hearts attack.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor returned the gesture and tried to keep a laugh inside.

"Oh my God I nearly got us caught," Renata waved some air to her with a hand.

The Doctor couldn't help and laugh again, "Is this the real Renata I'm finally meeting?" she blinked at the question as he continued, "An abider of the rules? Completely scared?"

"Well, I-I suppose..." she scratched the side of her head, "...this...this is me."

"Well then let me tell you that our adventures are going to be a lot more amusing," the Doctor honestly said, "But for now, just let me take you to this nice cruise where I can hopefully make up at least a part of what the Master did to you."

"What did he do?" Renata had to stop and think, wondering if he'd discovered her secret.

"He kidnapped you," the Doctor sighed, making her stiffen, "Forced you into the TARDIS and kept you prisoner for eighteen months."

"Oh...oh yeah," Renata was racking her mind for a way to explain the truth, that she'd gone with the Master voluntarily and basically chose to leave the Doctor. But how? How could she do that?

"C'mon," the Doctor linked arms with her and went into the reception room where the real party was going on. However, for Renata's sake, he decided to fgure out just exactly where they were. He took them up to a robotic and asked the important questions, "Evening. Passenger 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be..."

The angel, a Host, activated and answered, "Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information."

"Good, so, um... tell me - 'cause I'm an idiot - where are we from?"

"Information: the Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

"Did he just say the Titanic?" Renata felt even worse than before, "Who thought of that name?"

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

"Did they tell you why it was famous?" even the Doctor was a bit shaken.

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr Max Capricorn, president of Max - Max - Max..."

"Great, now we broke it and we'll get into problems," Renata said in despair.

"Ooh, bit of a glitch," the Doctor comforted her and reached for his sonic inside his pocket.

The chief steward ran over, "Sir, ma'am, we can handle this," he waved for others ti assist. Two more stewards hurried over and switched off the Host and took it, leaving the chief steward to give a lame excuse to the Time Lords, "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas," And he quickly followed after the others.

"These are all signs we should go," Renata concluded and turned to the Doctor.

"Why not relax a little, hm? We're not doing anything wrong."

"No, I mean, except stealing two passenger's spaces, meals, and-"

"Renata _calm down_ ," the Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders, "Are you always like this? So..."

"Unfortunate? Yeah, kinda,"Renata sighed and moved past him. She knew that her jumpy attitude wasn't all exactly coming from their rule breaking. Her mind was scolding her for not telling him the truth of what happened back at the end of the universe. He was trying to make her feel better, make up for something she voluntarily went with. That was no way to begin a friendship,if there was one to be began.

She slumped down at an empty table and snatched a drink from a passing waiter. The Doctor caught up with her in time to see her spitting out what she'd drank in, "What kind is this?" she coughed and set down the glass.

The Doctor gently took the glass from her and put it on the table, "Renata, is there something else you want to tell me?" he took a seat across from her, "Cos I bet after eighteen months, there's got to be something on your mind."

"Like yours," Renata forced herself to smile a little.

"Well I did just discover there's a Time Lady in existence, perhaps there's a couple questions on my mind," the Doctor casually threw out there, managing to make her chuckle.

"I'll tell you what...I'll answer all your questions if you listen to me first," Renata was gathering every bit of her courage.

"Deal," the Doctor immediately agreed, "Go on."

Renata opened her mouth but no words came out. She took a small breath and hoped her rapidly beating hearts wouldn't actually burst inside her, "What do you think happened after the Master first regained his true self?" she decided perhaps starting slow would help her.

"What?" the Doctor wasn't quite following.

"Just answer, please," she leaned forwards on the table.

"Um, well, he took my hand in a jar inside the TARDIS and then he came back for you-"

" _No_ ," Renata curled her hand into a fist as she forced herself to continue, "He didn't...he didn't come back for me..."

"What...?" the Doctor was confused on what relevance this topic had.

"The Master was my family, and he would never have forced me to go with him, well in the beginning. He didn't kidnap me...I went with him out of my own will."

This time, seriousness took over the Doctor's face as he asked, " _What_?"

Renata was desperately trying to avoid his hard eyes as she went on, "I told him who I was and I thought we could travel together-"

"In _my_ TARDIS?"

"No-"

"You hate me that much that you would stoop to stealing my TARDIS and running off with the Master, leaving me and my companions to _die_?" the Doctor couldn't believe what he was hearing, much less from who it was coming from.

"N-n-n-n-no, it wasn't like that, I swear," Renata tried to stop his thoughts from going off in a completely different direction.

"You took the TARDIS!" the Doctor pointed out, "You left us to die!"

"I wasn't going to do that! I was going to bring us back to 1969 and get my manipulator for the Master and I, then make sure the TARDIS was returned to you no less than a minute after we'd originally left," Renata swore, "You have to believe me!"

"It's a little far fetched, don't you think?" The Doctor stood up, looking furious as ever, "You've hated me from the start and you voluntarily ran off with the Master, in my TARDIS, and you let me believe it was my fault you were 'kidnapped' for an entire year!"

"I didn't know how to tell you," Renata tried cutting in, even standing up I'm front of him. "And I didn't exactly have the opportunity to tell you either! I'm sorry, I'm really, really, sorry," Renata was out of words that could possibly make the situation less worse.

"Of course, this makes sense. The Master was always taunting me with your 'kidnapping'. He knew," the Doctor took a long breath, "You know I always call myself an idiot for fun. But this time, I really was one."

"Doctor, I-"

The Doctor made a motion for her to stop talking. He got up and walked away from her with an indescribable face. Renata's eyes teared up as she mentally tallied up the times she made him walk away from her in that same state, though nothing hurt more than the very last time.

~ 0 ~

Renata was sat at the same table she'd spoken to the Doctor earlier, _hours_ ago. In all that time the only thing that had changed was the number of drinks she was now at. She wasn't quite surprised she'd resorted to drinking again; it had become a custom in her lives, ever since that first moment she and the Doctor had broken away from each other. She found nothing else could help her except to drown herself in a liquid that would slur her thoughts into a peaceful bliss. She'd done this after the Doctor had truly left her, then again at his wedding and even at her own. Time and time would see her doing that, and each time would also see her remember it all like a fresh wound.

"Would you like another drink, ma'am?" a blonde waitress stood at the table with a tray of drinks in her hand.

Renata turned her head at the woman, "That depends," she began bitterly, "Can you hold up a random number of fingers?"

"Um...sure, but why?" the waitress eyed Renata confusedly.

"Because I need to see how drunk I am."

"Oh, okay," And so the waitress held up three fingers.

Renata looked at the hand sighed, "You're holding three fingers aren't you?"

"Uh, yes," the waitress nodded her head.

"Nope, not drunk enough, then. Give it here," Renata motioned with a hand for the drinks to be given. The waitress handed over one glass and made Renata shake her head, "No, no, give me," she reached for the tray and set it down in front of her.

"O-oh," the waitress blinked as Renata started drinking from one glass.

"I know, I'm pathetic," Renata lowered her glass and swayed the remaining liquid inside, "But I've got nothing to celebrate. And I know you've probably heard that so many times but in this case it's actually true."

"But it's Christmas," the waitress reminded, really disliking the way Renata was acting and looking. Most guests were jolly and snooty, but still incredibly happy overall. Renata didn't seem to be either.

"Christmas," Renata repeated with no enthusiasm, "What's the point in celebrating when the person you..." she didn't dare finish her words, instead she resorted to finishing up her drink.

The waitress knew it was none of her business and that she should just continue with her work like any other employee would've done but she had to intervene. She reached for the glass Renata was drinking from and took it from her, "I don't think our entire stock is going to make you feel any better," she honestly said, "What you need is to talk. It's Christmas and no one should be spending it alone and certainly not over someone who doesn't deserve it."

"On the contrary, everything that's happened I completely deserve. It's all my fault, it's always my fault. He may be a notorious troublemaker but I am much worse," Renata rubbed the side of her head and stared at the table, "I hurt people within and anyone knows that the pain of hearts is far worse than a broken arm."

"Funny, you don't look like a heart breaker," the waitress tried to humor her, weakly, but still managed to get a small smile from Renata, "You look like a heart _snatcher_ ," Renata started laughing, the first real laugh she'd given in all the time she'd been on the ship. The waitress beamed and thought she should continue, "Oh yeah, you probably have all the men swooning over you, hm?"

"Honestly?" Renata raised an eyebrow, "In my entire life there have only been two men that have had my hearts."

The waitress looked around and saw no other employees nearby, "Just two...?" she asked in disbelief while she slowly and cautiously took a seat across Renata, hoping she didn't cross the line with the woman. She still was, after all, an employee and Renata a guest.

But it seemed like Renata had taken a liking to the waitress and leaned forwards on the table, for once forgoing the drinks. Or perhaps it was the amount of drinks she had that made it easier to talk the things that took months to talk with Martha Jones. "Just two, and oh they were magnificent. Well, one of them still is."

"I assume that's the one you're drinking over?"

Renata nodded, "I only ever drink when it's about him. Little habit of mine I developed centuries ago."

"Centuries? How old _are_ you?"

Renata sheepishly smiled, "I'm 803."

"You're 803?" the waitress' jaw dropped in shock.

"It's a big number, I know, and believe it hasn't been easy reaching it. In fact, I don't think I wanted to reach it."

The waitress watched Renata reach for another glass, knowing for sure it now had to do with that man causing her so much problems, "Don't say that," the waitress said quietly, "No person should ever make you think that. Now this man, the one that's making you do that," she pointed to the glass Renata was now drinking from, "If he's so magnificent, would he really like you drinking over him?"

"He doesn't know about it. Actually, he's never known about it," Renata shrugged, "He doesn't like it himself...he hates it, in reality," she started smiling. "

"Well, then I guess he's not all that bad," the waitress shrugged, widening Renata's smile.

"He's not," Renata agreed, "He's really, really, not...the complete opposite, actually."

"Tell me about him, then," the waitress encouraged, she theorized perhaps by making Renata talk about her mysterious man she would stop drinking and feel more motivated to go and fix things with him.

Renata started making a face at the waitress, nearly scolding herself for telling a stranger all that she'd said already. But then again, she didn't really have anyone else to talk with and the waitress seemed to genuinely care...what could be the harm? It had felt so easy already just talking to a stranger whom she'd probably never see again.

"What's your name, first of all?" Renata qiestioned, "I've been telling a stranger my secrets so I should at least have a name."

The waitress smiled and nodded in agreement, "Astrid Peth, ma'am."

"Renata," the blonde extended a hand to shake, chuckling at the surprised face Astrid had on, "Go on, then. Be polite."

"Thank you," Astrid sheepishly shook Renata's hand, "So, Renata, tell me about your mysterious man. Are you together right now?"

"No...well," Renata tried figuring out a way to describe to the relationship as best she could, "...once, for a short time...but it wasn't right, nor defined."

Astrid tried to follow along but she couldn't quite understand what Renata had meant. Still, she wasn't supposed to understand, she just supposed to let Renata vent her feelings out to help.

"Still, I grew to have affection for him..." Renata slowly quieted down, "...more than I should have, anyways. It was a mess but at the same time so...so beautiful. See, we're complete opposites. I'm stubborn, abider of the rules, I like things organized and I'm basically a mother hen...but _he_..." she trailed off with a small smile, "...he was the opposite. He was a notorious trouble maker, in fact that's why we met...he got into some trouble with the law, a small misdemeanor and his punishment was to give voluntary hours for a...charity, basically, that I ran."

"You have a charity?" Astrid blinked.

"Well, had," Renata took a long sigh, "I was in my last year of the Academy, this school for my people, and I was at the top of my game like the phrase goes. I was getting ready to graduate, to expand my charity to help anyone in need...when I was informed, without a choice, that I would be guarding a volunteer who'd committed a misdemeanor."

* * *

_A ginger-haired woman with a freckled face was stunned after hearing what she was basically being forced into. Her mouth opened several times to, no doubt, make an argument but all that came out was squeaks of frustration._

_The taller man with matching dark hair and dark eyes standing across her seemed to be very amused with her reaction. "Is...she going to explode?"_

_The question seemed to offend her even more. "You shouldn't even talk!" she shouted but the second man with them, the enforcer of this ridiculous punishment, cleared his throat._

_"Doctor, if you could please...behave yourself, then perhaps Miss Zuriah would feel better about this arrangement."_

_Zuriah (then named Renata) redirected her furious hazel eyes onto the enforcer. "I shouldn't even have to! This is a charity I am trying to lift up and it definitely cannot house criminals!"_

_"I am not a criminal," the Doctor very casually rolled his eyes. "If I had been, I would not be here."_

_"This is a place to help people-"_

_"And I actually, believe it or not, like to do that," the Doctor gave a big smile like she wasn't just glaring daggers at him. "I think I can help."_

_"Well, that settles that," the enforcer looked between them with a smile of his own. "Zuriah, do not worry. The Doctor, while he holds a very...interesting reputation, does not pose a danger to your work. I will be back to explain what you'll need to report to me."_

_"Not like I have a choice," Zuriah crossed her arms and glared at the Doctor while the enforcer took his leave. "I cannot believe you are being dumped on me like this. It just goes to show how little my work must seem to society."_

_The Doctor frowned and watched the ginger go back to her desk. "I don't think that," but she scoffed at him. She plopped down on her chair and took up some papers. "I mean it," the Doctor came towards her. "I did my research and I'm very impressed with your work. You're a last year in the Academy and you've already built yourself a charity that helps anyone no matter class? You're a wonder, Zuriah."_

_Zuriah stared up with a mixture of disbelief and plain shock._

* * *

"I couldn't believe him," Renata smiled to herself. "No one before him had ever complimented my work. No one had even even turned to look at everything I'd managed to build because I was just a _student_."

"That must have been hard..." Astrid said. She felt a bit of sympathy for Renata, even though she knew they had nothing similar in their lives. She was a waitress, but because she was a waitress she felt like no one ever turned to look at her and see what she'd done...and even if she had done something, no one would give her the time of day because she wasn't anyone important.

"My family, we were, uh...we were high class and they always...they always said I could do something better," Renata shook her head. "Because we were 'better people' and we had no obligation to help those below our class. My sister...she was more understanding, but all in all it was hard to keep working on something that your family didn't really approve. They had all these plans that I never really liked. I mean, I was accustomed to following the rules set before us by our 'social class'..."

"You felt like a robot," Astrid could tell from Renata's downward expression.

"I felt like a prisoner," Renata mumbled. Her family had always kept her aligned in front of society. They were a respectable family and everything they did had to be in accordance to their image. Renata had grown up that way and was accustomed to it, but she always wondered what it could be like to live a life where only she could govern herself and decide what she wanted. By meeting the Doctor, she got a taste of that life seeing as he lived to break rules and do as he pleased. At first it was annoying, later scary, and then much later fun...

* * *

_"You're mad!" ginger-haired Zuriah shouted as the Doctor ran back and forth in the small library room of the charity. "You can't just...you can't do that!"_

_The Doctor dropped a basket of books on the floor, letting some drop which Zuriah repeatedly gestured at for him to pick up. "It would make things more interesting for these people. Why give them all these boring books-"_

_"Those books you call boring are the history of your people," Zuriah flatly said._

_"It's not like they don't know it already," the Doctor shrugged, further frustrating Zuriah. "These people - they want to relax. Give them interesting books."_

_"You-" Zuriah came straight towards him with a finger pointed at him, "-do not get to make changes around here! You work for me! I am technically your supervisor!"_

_The Doctor chuckled at her. "I know, it's funny isn't it?"_

_Zuriah air-strangled him and decided to leave the room for safety reasons (for him)._

_"Is that a yes on the books, then?" the Doctor called after her and received a full blown frustration shout afterwards. He laughed to himself and picked the basket up again._

* * *

"He was a _massive_ headache," Renata rubbed the side of her head with an amused smile as she recalled all the gimmicks the young Doctor would come up with during that time, "Trying to change my rules here and there, riling up my members. Awful man..."

"Mm, but you know what else they say, polar opposites attract," Astrid smirked, making Renata visibly blush.

"I don't even know how it happened, it shouldn't have..." Renata grew serious. She began to feel guilty, even when telling her story to the stranger. Maybe it wasn't as easy it she thought it would be. In her book, it was infidelity...and it was shameful against anyone. "I'm so sorry..." she awkwardly smiled. "I shouldn't even be saying anything...he doesn't know anything about me..."

"How do you mean?" Astrid felt the conversation closing but she at least wanted to know what Renata meant by her last statement.

"Our people, we have this ability to change our faces, and I happened to change mine after we'd broken things off. He never knew what happened to me, still doesn't know," Renata began to clean herself up. She could not spend her Christmas drinking like this.

"Did you love him?" Astrid's question made Renata freeze.

"I...I'm sorry?" Renata weakly responded, acting as if she hadn't heard the question.

Astrid knew better than to believe that. She smiled kindly at Renata, ensuring her this would stay between them. "This man, in the past, did you love him?"

Renata swallowed hard and thought about it, even though she'd known the answer for centuries. "Yes...I did..." she whispered.

"And what about now?"

There, Renata would not say. She just couldn't say that she did...because even she wasn't sure. So many centuries and things had happened since the last time she and the Doctor had actually shared a moment - and even that moment had been the horrible, tragic ending of their story. "I should help you get this cleared off," Renata decided to switch topics. She got up from her chair and started putting together all the empty glasses she was responsible for.

Astrid understood the conversation was now officially over. Still, she felt for the woman. "It's okay, you don't have to help me. It's my job after all," she tried to take some of the empty glasses onto her tray.

"Nonsense, I'm responsible for all these glasses I drowned. Let me help!"

"You're not one of those drunks who tends to clean when they're, you know, drunk?" Astrid chuckled.

"No, I don't know if I had enough drinks, actually, to be considered really drunk," Renata admitted as she picked up her last glass which still held a considerable amount inside. It did still look tempting...

"You shouldn't," Astrid tried to be polite about it.

Renata gave a light shrug and moved around just as a man passed them. She ended up bumping into him and spilling some of her wine on him.

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going!" the man angrily shouted at her, making her flinch, "This jacket's a genuine Earth antique."

"I-I'm sorry," Renata barely had time to process what she'd accidentally done.

"Oh don't give me a stupid apology," the man snapped at her.

"I-it's just a stain," Renata tried to say, "I've been around-"

"I don't care!" the man once again resorted to shouting, "You're gonna pay for this you little-"

Renata recovered in time and instead of continuing to apologize she chucked the remainder of her drink on his jacket, angering the man even more. She breathed slightly heavier and looked at her empty glass then back to Astrid, "...see, _now_ I've had enough drinks," she slowly set her glass on the table.

"Who the hell do you think you are you stupid drunk!?" the man pushed Renata back to the table, immediately making Astrid stand from her chair.

Astrid looked around for anyone that could help, knowing she, a simple waitress, wouldn't be enough to stop the angry man who clearly was a refined guest of the cruise.

"I'll have you off this cruise, you'll see!" the man was busy yelling at Renata.

"Ha, I'm not even registered here," Renata covered her mouth and blinked, wondering if she really had just said that. She was really acting out tonight and right now all she wanted to do was crawl under her bed - well, _a_ bed considering now that she really had no other place to go.

"Even easier, then!" the man latched onto Renata's arm, "You're coming with me!"

"What? No I'm not!" Renata struggled against the force, "Get off me! Let go!"

"I don't think it's necessary, sir," Astrid tried intervening but ended up losing.

"Get away from me you stupid waitress!" the man shoved her away and nearly made her fall back.

"Hey don't push her," Renata pushed him away , "This is between you and me!"

"You're right," the man straightened and reached for her again.

"Let her go right now or the only one being thrown off this ship is you," the Doctor had cut in and grabbed the man's wrist. He shoved the man off and stepped in front of the surprised Renata, "Go now before I accuse you of aggression."

"She did this!" the man gestured to his jacket that bore a large stain of wine.

"Oh just scrub it away with some soap," the Doctor waved it off, "And let it go, it's a stain, not the end of the world," the man grumbled and went off. After a moment, the Doctor turned to Renata and studied her then the table behind which consisted of several, several glasses, "How many drinks have you had?" he frowned at the sight then looked at Astrid, "Have you been giving her these drinks?"

"No, I-I haven't..." Astrid panicked as she thought the blame of Renata's behavior would now fall on her.

"Leave her alone," came Renata's quiet defense. She returned to the table and scanned it for a glass that could still have more liquid inside, "It's not like you care, anyways."

"I may be angry but that doesn't mean I've stopped caring for you," the Doctor nearly shouted at her.

"Well don't yell at her either," Astrid spoke up for Renata, "You think that'll prove you mean it?"

While the Doctor didn't have a clue as to who the woman, he did have to agree she was right on some level. He took a moment and calmed down, watching Astrid move around to Renata who'd taken a seat.

"You okay?" she asked the blonde guest.

"Yes, yes, but can I get another drink?" Renata looked up with tears in her eyes.

" _No_ ," the Doctor quickly intervened, "No more drinks, please," Astrid nodded, "How about some tea instead, you got any?"

"Yes, sir," Astrid nodded again.

"No, no, don't do the sir please. I'm the Doctor."

"Sorry s-Doctor," Astrid gave a small smile, "I'll bring it right over," she cast a last glance at Renata and hurried off.

The Doctor stared down at Renata for a moment, still suppressing his anger with her. He didn't like yelling and much less at the only other Time Lady in existence. Besides that, he just didn't like being angry with Renata at all. He didn't want to be, he actually wanted to enjoy this surprise cruise with her after such an awful year. It was just hard getting over the fact she'd actually tried to runaway with the Master.

"Can you stop staring at me?" Renata ordered quietly as she tinkered with a glass near her, "You're angry, I get it. But could you spare me the burning eyes?" if there was something she hated about him, it was the heavy effect his eyes had on her...especially when he was upset.

* * *

_"Well, you don't need to swipe my stuff off the table," Zuriah cast a rather sad glance at her materials now on the floor due to the Doctor angrily pushing everything off it. "They're not the ones who upset you."_

_"It's my parents! It's always them! They're always making decisions on my behalf like I'm a child!" the Doctor paced back and forth in front of her._

_"They usually tend to make decisions thinking what's best for you," Zuriah spoke from experience. "Though we might not see it like that."_

_"Would you stop defending them!?" he stopped pacing to glare at her._

_She blinked at his hard eyes and began to shift under them too. This was one of the first times she'd witnessed so much...emotion...in him. He was usually only cheery, annoying, and energetic. There was never anything else. "What did they do?" she asked softly, trying to be more understanding this time._

_He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down too. He realized Zuriah was being kind and just trying to help him out. "They picked a wife for me."_

_Zuriah's eyes widened. "Oh..."_

_His eyes still bored into hers, but this time instead of rage it was despondence radiating off them. It called Zuriah in without asking. It was like the urge to make him feel better was something she **needed** to do, and she didn't know why. It scared her a bit too._

* * *

"You acted out," the Doctor began in another direction, reaching for a chair and moving it close to Renata and sat down, "You threw alcohol at a man?"

"The first time it was an accident," Renata mumbled and looked away.

"There was a first time," the Doctor repeated with a small nod. He sighed, "Are you drinking because of what happened earlier?"

"No, I just really, really wanted to get drunk on Christmas," she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I could do without the sarcasm," the Doctor frowned.

"And I could've done without the argument!"

"Well it's not my fault. You lied-"

"No, I didn't lie, I just didn't say anything," Renata cut him off, "You never asked."

"Oh and that makes it alright not to tell me, then?"

"I was scared to tell you!"

"Why?"

"Hm, I don't know, considering the way you've acted, I'm pretty sure I was right to be afraid," Renata gestured to him, "But that's how you always act, isn't it? You get angry and you don't let anyone explain. You stick with what was said and done and you leave it. Hm? You just leave it and don't fight for it!"

" _What_ the hell are you talking about?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, completely lost on her words. If even if he wanted to respond, he had no idea how to with this!

Renata regretted her words the moment she had said them. She knew they were out of place and that it had nothing to do with their current argument but it just came out. Being so overwhelmed made her burst into sobs right there and then. Telling Astrid didn't help at all, it only helped bring back the memories she'd buried with centuries of help.

The Doctor didn't know how to help nor react. He hadn't actually expected her to just begin crying in front of him. He now felt awfully guilty for making her feel like that, even though he was still pretty upset with her. But then he remembered all that he'd caused her in 1913: he was responsible for her adopted children's death and good friends, destroying her village, part of her son's school, endangering her life...kidnapping her...

Suddenly Renata's doings didn't seem as bad and on some level party justified. He wasn't happy about it, but if the Master had really been part of her family then of course she would rather have ran off with him than the man who kidnapped her.

"Oh my goodness!" the voice of Astrid broke through the Doctor. She had seen Renata sobbing while the Doctor was just staring at the ground. She hurried up to the table and put down the tea they'd ordered to go help Renata, "Were you even trying to fix things with her?" she, rather harshly, looked at the Doctor.

He looked back to snap at her but after taking a look at Renata and relaying what he'd done so far he realized he didn't really have much of an argument. They were both at fault this time.

"Look, I brought your tea," Astrid was trying to get Renata to look up from the table. The Time Lady had a hand covering the side of her face as a shield for her sobs, "It's really good, I promise. Have a bit," Astrid slid the cup closer.

The Doctor had to smile a bit as he saw the blonde waitress desperately trying to make Renata better. He knew Renata practically had no friends, the only one she seemed to have had left and the others were dead. It seemed like Astrid was doing just the trick, as Renata was slowly looking up to her.

"This was just a big mistake," Renata began muttering then looked directly at the Doctor, a hint of anger in her eyes, "Take me home, take me home right now. 1969 is where I belong and you up in the sky." The Doctor was stunned to hear those words, and slightly hurt. "You're angry with me for running away from you but you _kidnapped_ me," Renata continued, an accusing finger pointed at the other Time Lord, "And that is a real crime; recognized in the entire universe!"

The Doctor didn't know what to say, much more how to respond to the kidnapping. He was upset with her as well but...be didn't want to bring her back to 1969. He took her for a reason, and that reason still stood.

_"Attention please. Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7."_

At the announcement, the Doctor straightened with an idea, one that perhaps could help Renata and himself cool off, "How's about we go find out what Red 6-7 is, Ren?"

Renata's anger faded in exchange for confusion, why the hell was he always switching topics like that? Meanwhile, Astrid was pretty on board for her blonde friend to take the offer, "I think that would be a good idea," she started helping Renata to her feet.

"But I haven't said yes yet," Renata tried to remind, already seeing the Doctor pull out his psychic paper.

"But you were going to," Astrid casually remarked, getting an approving look from the Doctor for that.

"Oh, I like you," the Time Lord nodded.

Astrid chuckled, "Well, go on then," she shooed both aliens away, "Go explore."

"Wait," Renata exclaimed and finally managed to get the attention on her, "If I go...she goes," she pointed at Astrid.

"What?" Astrid made a face, "I can't go. I'll get the sack!"

"Hey, we're stowaways so I guess it's all about breaking the rules tonight," Renata sighed, "Please come."

Astrid could admit it would be splendid to see what was out there, that was why she joined the cruise in the first place. But even now, as much as she wanted to nod her head and say yes a thousand times, she couldn't. It would look bad, like she had used Renata just to get a peek at the world.

"Red 6-7 departing shortly," the Doctor heard an elderly man call out. He figured the only way to make Renata come was to make the waitress come as well. So, he grabbed both womens' wrists and dragged them away, "Red 6-7 plus two," he flashed the psychic paper to the man, Mr. Copper.

"Uh, quickly, sir, and please take three teleport bracelets if you would," Copper handed out the bracelets to the trio.

"I'll get the sack," Astrid murmured to Renata.

"It's a brand new sky out there," Renata tried to persuade Astrid. She didn't think she could make a trip with the Doctor wihtout starting another argument. "Please come?"

Astrid sighed in defeat, although she wasn't very upset she would be making this trip. She took the bracelet and strapped it to her wrist then turned to listen to one of her co-workers who was addressing the crowd.

"To repeat, I am Mr Copper, the ship's historian, and I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of U.K. ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now human beings worshipped the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And every Christmas Eve the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner... like savages.

Now at this, both the Doctor and Renata agreed it was just ridiculous. The Doctor cleared his throat and raised a finger to interrupt. "Excuse me, sorry, sorry, but, um...where did you get all this from?"

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics. Now stand by..."

A small red alien with spikes over his head came bundling through holding a ticket in the air. "And me! And me! Red 6-7!"

"Well, take a bracelet, sir?"

"Is that a good idea, though?" Renata spoke up this time, really doing it only for the benefit of the small alien. "I'm sorry, sir, what was your name?"

Although confused, the alien answered. "Bannakaffalatta."

"I really don't mean to be rude but your overall appearance will most definitely attract the attention of all the humans down there. Perhaps we should all just stay-" but Renata never got to finish her suggestion as the transmitter was activated. The first thing she and the Doctor noticed was that the night street was completely empty.

"Now, spending money -" Copper called their attention, "I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to by trinkets or, uh, stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as "beef" but don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing."

"That's not really what happens-" Renata made to go and try to correct Copper in the most politest way possible when the Doctor pulled her by the arm back to where they stood.

"We have a bigger problem if you hadn't noticed," he gestured to the empty street.

"That's true," Renata sighed. "Where is everyone?"

Meanwhile, Astrid was in complete awe of her new surroundings. "But it's beautiful."

The Doctor sent her an incredulous glance, one that made Renata scold him silently. "Really?" he asked in disbelief. "Do you think so? It's just a street. The pyramids are beautiful, and New Zealand..."

Astrid chuckled but nodded anyways. "But it's a different planet. I'm standing on a different planet. Th-there's concrete...and shops, alien shops, real alien shops!" she pointed at a measly white stand across the street. "And look, no stars in the sky. And it smells. It stinks!"

"That's not very nice," Renata crinkled her nose a moment afterwards when the scent hit her nose. Alright, so it didn't smell so that good.

Astrid surprised her with a tight hug. "This is amazing! Thank you!"

Renata hugged her back. "Well, you listened to my boring story so the least I can do is bring you here. It truly is a beautiful planet."

"Can we go see that shop please?" Astrid pointed to the only stand on the street.

"Alright," the Doctor was the first to answer. He took the two women with him and approached an elder man who was bundled up in bright Christmas clothing. He was watching the small television inside the stand when he spotted the trio.

"Hello," greeted Renata kindly. "This might sound like an idiotic question but...where's everyone gone to?" she gestured to the empty street.

"Oh-ho, scared!" the man, Wilfred, answered with a small chuckle.

"Scared?" repeated Renata, whose eyes widened a little. "But what are they scared of?"

Wilf had to laugh again. "Where have you been living? London at Christmas? Not safe, is it?"

"1969," Renata mumbled before casting a suspicious look at the Doctor who innocently looked away from her. She suspected these "safety" precautions had something to do with his previous actions.

Then Wilfred went on to explain which confirmed Renata's suspicions. "Look, Christmas before last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on a roof. And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames."

"Did you now?" Renata's eyes widened even more. She cleared her throat and called upon the responsible one. "Anything to comment, Doctor?" she remembered when the Master and her had first arrived on Earth and after weeding his way into Britain politics, they'd gotten word of the mysterious 'star' in the sky electrocuting people. It was the first time the Master had truly gotten power. It was his starting point. "That was _you_?" she whisper-hissed at the Doctor.

"I would like to point out that they came on their own without my influence," the Doctor defended himself quite nicely. "I just stopped."

"By draining the Thames!"

"And this year, Lord knows what. So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. All except me...and Her Majesty-" Wilfred pointed to the television.

_'Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she will be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's nothing to fear.'_

"God bless her!" he saluted. "We stand vigil."

"I promise you that this year will most certainly be different," Renata determinedly said, casting a warning look at the Doctor. "Because I will personally look into the matter-"

But then they were teleported back to the spaceship.

Renata made a gesture with her hands that indicated she felt very offended by the sudden departure. "It's rude to cut me off mid-sentence!"

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. A bit of a problem," Copper apologized to the group as he went along collecting bracelets, "If I could have your bracelets -"

The chief steward came by to make another apology.

"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, we seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, free drinks will be provided."

"That was the best, the best!" Astrid turned to the two and gave Renata another hug. "Oh, thank you so much!"

Renata smiled and let the blonde return to her work. She exchanged a look with the Doctor, and remembered their argument. Sighing, she left him as well.

She missed 1969.

~ 0 ~

Renata crossed the reception room after deciding it was time to face the Doctor again...or at least find something to entertain herself with till he decided it was time to go. She doubted the TARDIS would open up for since she wasn't its pilot. She stopped, however, just at the threshold of the grand ballroom when she spotted the Doctor once again messing with the ship's tech. Rolling her eyes, she moved for him.

The Doctor had put on his thick-rimmed glasses and pulled out his sonic to use on a video frame of Max Capricorn. He did not look up from it when Renata stopped by.

"So, after stowing away we're also going to mess with the ship's technology?"

The Doctor pulled open the frame, startling her with the sudden force he put into it. When she saw him begin to change the settings, she panicked and looked around.

"You're asking for us to get caught!" she cried quietly, but still the Doctor did not desist. "What's the point in all this, hm!?"

The Doctor got her answer when he saw that the entire shields of the ship had been turned offline. "The shields…"

Renata sighed. "What about the shields?"

The Doctor didn't answer right away as he ran for the nearest window. While Renata took a look herself at the screen, the Doctor saw meteors approaching the ship.

"Wait...why are the shields off - ah!" Renata had been abruptly pushed to the side by the Doctor.

"Sorry!" he apologized while he hacked into the comm. system. "Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in West 0 by North 2."

"Meteoroid storm?" Renata couldn't believe him at first so she ran to the windows herself. Her hearts nearly stopped when she saw the meteorites getting closer and closer. Of course they were about to be killed by meteorites. Because that's exactly what would happen around the Doctor.

"Come with me sir," Renata heard and turned back to see two stewards of the ship coming for the Doctor. "Hey!" she rushed after them, grabbing the side of her gown to keep up with them. "He's not wrong, you know!?"

"You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!" the Doctor's explanation mixed with hers, causing a total overlap of their voices. When the Doctor saw his words were not getting through, he desperately called on Renata. "Renata, warn them!"

"What!?" the blonde suddenly stopped walking.

The Doctor struggled to shout over the music playing in the room. "Warn the guests! Do something, please!"

"But I-" Renata looked around the lively room.

"Renata, break the rules for once!"

Renata saw him getting farther and farther and she panicked. What did he mean break the rules? Her eyes landed on the stage where the band was currently playing. Well, if there was ever a way to draw on the Doctor's influence, the moment was definitely _now_.

Renata broke into a run and made it straight to the desk. She scolded herself for yanking the microphone from the singer, and that she would apologize immediately after they were safe.

"Everyone, listen to me!" she cut through the music and garnered the eyes of the guests. "This is an emergency! Get to the lifeb -" but a Host had covered her mouth before she could finish her announcement. Despite kicking and thrashing, she was handed over to stewards.

"C'mon!" she continued to call as she was taken across the reception. "Please! Just look out the windows and you'll see I'm telling you the truth!"

The stewards pulled her quicker and with more force. They brought her to the same place they were still struggling to bring in the Doctor.

"I tried! I really did!" Renata began to say when she saw him. "I warned then all-"

"Sir, I can vouch for them!" they heard Astrid calling from a distance. Behind her were the Van Hoffs and Mr. Copper, the latter talking about teleports being down.

"Look, Steward, they've just had a bit too much to drink," Morvin Van Hoff was also trying to make a case for the two Time Lords. They'd met the Doctor earlier, although on his own, and thought he was rather nice to be creating all this commotion.

But no one listened to any cases. The Stewards brought the Time Lords down to the maintainence corridors.

"The shields are down, we are going to get hit!" the Doctor's voice was covered up by the overlapping of the crowd behind them.

Even the man Renata had a conflict with had caught up with them, looking pretty upset as well. "Oi! Steward! The shields are down!"

"Listen to him! Listen to him!" the Doctor said, but of course no one did.

So when the meteroids took the first strike against the ship, they all tumbled to the side. During the small gap between the first and second blow, the Doctor had scavenged for Renata and tried to protect her as much as possible. The ship took several strikes until it finally ceased to move, only the bits of metal groaning giving some noise.

"Is it...is it stopping…?" Renata raised her head off the floor, terrified beyond belief.

"Shh," the Doctor motioned her with a finger to stay quiet. When the groans of the ship finally stopped, he decreed it was indeed over. "C'mon," he stood up and then helped Renata. "You alright?" he asked but looked her over himself before she could actually answer him.

"Yes, yes, I'm okay," she passed a hand through her now messy hair then looked at the rest. She saw Astrid pulling herself up and was relieved to see the waitress also looked relatively good too.

"Bad name for a ship. Either that or this suit is really unlucky," the Doctor mumbled.

"Somehow I don't think destroying the ship had anything to do with your suit," Renata gave a small shake of her head.

The Doctor moved over to one of the stewards on the floor and sighed when he got no heartbeat. The Chief steward, on the other hand, was alive and nervous. "Ev-everyone... Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners. We seem to have had a small collision."

" _Small_?" Morvin scoffed.

Renata watched as the Doctor silently hurried to a comm. system and wondered who could he possibly contact after such a disaster.

"You know how much I paid for my ticket?" the dark-haired man, a snob, demanded from the chief steward.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen…"

But everyone began to shout their individual problems at the poor steward.

"ENOUGH!" Renata was the one to get them all silent. "Because arguing and shouting is going to get the point across? Really?" and she felt the irony hit her when she recalled how her night had been going with the Doctor.

"Thank you," the chief steward said to her and Renata nodded. "I-I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruiseliners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first I would point out that we are very much alive."

"Yes, thank you," Renata gestured he had the right idea.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship. If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the - the situation…" but he had moved to open the hatch.

"No, don't open it!" the Doctor attempted to stop him but it was too late.

With the hatch open, it filled the room with a sucking air that threatened to yank them into outer space just as it did with the Chief Steward. Everyone managed to hang onto something and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on the comm. computer to get the shield back up.

"Oxygen shield stabilized," went the computer just as it shut the hatch down again. Everyone flopped to the floor.

"Everyone all right?" the Doctor looked back at the group, slightly breathless. "Renee?"

The blonde sent him a hard look for the use of her name. "Just because I nearly died...I will let you get away with that." Despite the awful situation they were in, the Doctor still found time to smile. Renata rolled her eyes and glanced at the others. "Astrid? I'm sorry, who are you two?" she asked the Van Hoffs.

"I'm Morvin, and this is my wife Foon," Morvin introduced himself to her.

"Nice to meet you," Renata smiled and glanced at the Doctor for some sort of explanation of how he knew them.

"You talked to the waitress, I talked to them," he shrugged and took over in making sure everyone was alright. "Mr. Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," the small red alien nodded for both of them.

Renata's face slightly expressed a bit of distaste as her gaze fell on the dark-haired man. "And you…" even her voice had changed with him, "What was your name?"

"Rickston Slade," the man also eyed her with dislike.

"Are you...okay as well?"

"No thanks to that idiot," Rickston made a gesture at the hatch.

Renata turned away from him, giving up completely. Astrid frowned at the man for his lack of prudence and symptahty.

"The steward just died!"

"Then he's a dead idiot!"

Astrid didn't feel like controlling herself and made a step for the man.

"Alright," the Doctor called them. "Calm down. Just stay still, all of you. Hold on."

Renata followed him to the hatch opening and whispered. "What happened? How come the shields were down?"

"I don't think it was an accident."

"I think I got that," Renata looked to the side with a big sigh. "Question is, who would want this to happen? And for what? Money, probably…" she said distractedly, "...or…" but she had to stop when she actually saw some of the passengers' dead corpses floating in the space.

The Doctor looked up when she went silent and pulled her from the window. "Hey…"

Renata blinked slowly and eventually met his gaze. "I'm sorry...I just...I haven't seen bodies like that since...since the war…"

The Doctor nodded his head and briefly hugged her, suddenly wondering if she knew how their planet was gone. "I'm going to get you out of here, Renata, I promise."

Renata pulled away when a tingle ran up her back. The guilt was just inevitable and right now it was the last thing she wanted to feel.

"Now," the Doctor addressed the group, "if we can get to Reception, I've got a spaceship tucked away. We can all get on board…" but he happened to look outside the window and saw the TARDIS floating.

"What is it?" Astrid followed his gaze to the window and moved up to see what he was looking at.

"That's my spaceship over there."

"Oh no," Renata turned to the window as well and felt her hearts sink at the sight of the TARDIS.

"Where?" Astrid's eyes were skipping over the blue box as she searched for a full spaceship.

"There, that box. That little blue box," Renata pointed to the TARDIS and had to smile when Astrid's face scrunched up.

"That's a spaceship?"

"Oi, don't knock it," the Doctor lightly scolded.

"It's a bit small…" Astrid tried to be kind.

"A bit distant. Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity and that would be...the Earth."

"So, the TARDIS is gone-" Renata turned away from the window with folded arms, "-now what, Doctor?"

Hoping for a streak of luck, the Doctor went back to the comm. system and tried getting ahold of someone. "Deck 22 to the bridge. Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"

"Doctor, the chances of someone surviving are-"

"This is the bridge," a young man's voice cut into Renata's doubting statement. The Doctor then shot Renata s mug smile.

"Oh just...be quiet," Renata waved a hand at him.

"Oh hello, sailor. Good to hear you," the Doctor spoke back into the comm. "What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air. The oxygen field is holding. But the captain...he's dead. He did it. I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try."

"All right. Just stay calm," the Doctor said. "Tell me your name. What's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame."

"Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?"

"They're um...hold on…"

"Doctor…" Renata moved up beside the Doctor, head leaned forwards, "...he sounds like he's been hurt." Once more, she was drawing on her memories from the Time War.

"Have you been injured?" the Doctor asked Frame.

"I'm all right," the two Time Lords heard the struggle for the man to answer. "Oh my vot. They're cycling down."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?"

"Yeah."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit," a clear fear settled over Renata's face. "And then...oh my God, Earth!"

"Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth," the Doctor had also realized but remained much more calm than Renata and Frame. "Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work," Frame replied.

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until I can get to the bridge," the Doctor promised then switched off the comm.

"What? You think you can fix this entire ship?" Renata blinked at him, the doubtful lace in her words disappointing the Doctor.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he bluntly asked.

"Stupid, no. Hopelessly rambunctious? Yes."

The Doctor's face went flat. She just had a way with words that despite it insulting him playfully, the grace in her tone made it sound... _okay_. "I will let you have that one..."

"Hm," Renata playfully rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "So then how are we going to save this entire ship?" her eyes settled over the nervous group still waiting to be told something good.

"First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B...no...two-" the Doctor shook his head, "-we're going to reach the bridge. Three - or C: we're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low Four or D or that little "iv" in brackets they use in footnotes...why. Right then, follow me."

"Do you just get off making big speeches?" Renata raised a curious eyebrow. It was a stupid question since she knew the answer to it.

"Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?" Rickston demanded to know, eyeing the Doctor with a condescending air.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord-" the Doctor started going off on an epic speech, much to Renata's amusement. She remembered how much he loved to make ridiculously long speeches for the smallest of things. "I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

Rickston hadn't been expecting so much of an exaplantion, and because he didn't understand most of it, he just went along with him. "No."

"In that case, allons-y!" the Doctor whirled around and started walking.

Renata had scrunched her nose at the new word. "Uuuum…" she followed after him, "Sorry, what was that word there?"

"Which one?" the Doctor looked down at her as they now walked side-by-side.

"The word that's clearly not a word."

"Allonsy?"

"That's the one," Renata sarcastically said. "You can't say that. It's not a real word."

"It is _too_ a real word," the Doctor began to argue with her.

And they continued to debate over the realness of his word until they came to a shut metal door. On his own, the Doctor slowly opened it and found a staircase on the other side. Said staircase with full of rubbish and fallen, sparkling cables.

"Careful," he warned the rest as they stepped in. "Follow me." As he led the way, he cleared as much of the debris for them.

"Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence," Copper began to share what he believed was knowledge. Renata threw him a look but didn't say anything. "They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."

"Actually, that's not true," the Doctor politely cut in. "Christmas is a time of peace and thanksgiving and...what am I on about? Christmas is always like this." He uncovered an unworking Hose underneath some debri. "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

"We can do robotics, both of us," Morvin gestured to himself and his wife.

"We worked on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff," Foon nodded.

"See if you can get it working," the Doctor left the Host to their care and motioned for the others to follow him up the staircase. However, they found the rest of the way was blocked.

"We'll have to move some of the things out of the way," Renata eyed the heavy looking mess in front of them.

"Mhm," the Doctor nodded. "Rickston, Mr Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta... look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

Judging by the look on the red alien's face, the answer was a definite no. "No! Bannakaffalatta!"

"All right then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

"Easy. Good," Bannakaffalatta hurried to get himself through the opening. As he did, the ship abruptly lurched and sent some new debris over the group, causing a bit of havoc.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston angrily shouted afterwards.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot. Did you get our message?" the Doctor asked ever-so-serious that Renata knew would end up in some rude, sarcastic snap afterwards.

Rickston gave the Time Lord a confused look. "No, what message?"

Renata closed her eyes just as the Doctor shouted "Shut up!"

"So nice of you," the blonde commented to him afterwards.

"What? You're defending him now?" the Doctor blinked at her. "Didn't you throw him your drink?"

"If we're on that logical page then you and I should still be trying to bite each other's heads off."

"Fair point," the Doctor conceded. "But since we're in the middle of a life threatening situation I decided to leave it."

Renata wished it could be that easy. To leave everything behind and simply start anew would be like a dream. "You know we can't just do that forever, right?"

The Doctor became serious for once, and when the two locked eyes they agreed they could only push back their inevitable argument for the tenure of the shipwreck. "Until we're in the TARDIS?"

Renata gave a curt nod. "Agreed."

"Bannakaffalatta made it!" they heard from the other side.

"I'm small enough, I can get through," Astrid volunteered next.

"I'm not," Renata looked down at her longer statute. "But I can make an effort. Still, you should probably go in first."

Astrid didn't want to outright agree it was the best option for fear of sounding rude. She crawled through the small open area.

"Careful," Renata cautioned then looked up at the Doctor. "If I get stuck you leave me there. Don't touch me."

The jabbed finger on his arm was warning enough to the Doctor that she was not kidding. "Ouch, okay, I get it. But you would prefer to die than let me push you through?"

"It's not proper," was all Renata said before pushing her way through the open area.

"Those are some values you've got there!" the Doctor called, meaning it as a joke.

Renata stopped however, and weighed the truth of his words. She could feel the terrible ping in her hearts and swallowed. If he only knew it was her then perhaps he wouldn't have even said the words.

"Renee?" the Doctor peered down when he noticed her long stop. "Are you stuck?"

Renata blinked and immediately continued crawling. "No! I'm fine! Don't touch me!"

"There you are," Astrid cheerily waited for her at the end. "You fit right through!"

Renata took Astrid's helping hand to get out. "I'm just as surprised." She then peered her head into the gap. "Doctor? I made it. We can probably clear it from this side. Just tell us if it starts moving."

After a word of caution from the Doctor, she and Astrid began pulling on their side of the debris. But when Astrid saw Bannakaffalatta lying down a bit to the side, she foregone the task to go see the alien. "Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?"

"Sshhh," Bannakaffalatta put a finger to his lips. Slightly curious of the matter, Renata left a metal rod and joined them.

"What is it?" she asked them.

"Can't say," Bannakaffalatta despondently said.

"There's no one here," Renata softly said. "So whatever you're ashamed of you can say it without fear."

"How do you know?" went the red alien, looking truly surprised

"Because I know that face anywhere," Renata sighed. "The look of shame is universal. Say your secret with peace."

"Poor Bannakaffalatta," he took her words to heart and pulled his shirt to reveal cybernetic components underneath.

"You're a cyborg," Astrid gasped.

"Had accident long ago. Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now," Astrid attempted to make him feel better. Renata smiled from behind. "Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married."

"Marry you?"

"Well, you can buy me a drink first," Astrid chuckled nervously. "Come on. Let's recharge you." She reached for a button on his torso and pushed on it. "Just stay there for a bit."

"Tell no one," Bannakaffalatta pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry," Renata put a hand on Astrid's shoulder, "She's good at keeping one's secret."

Astrid smiled knowingly and got back on her feet.

"Renee? What's going on up there?!" they soon heard the Doctor's voice.

Renata cursed under her breath. "If he doesn't stop calling me that…" Astrid laughed as the woman turned back to their work.

On the other side, Midshipman Frame had made contact with the Doctor again. "Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one."

The Doctor quickly stopped his work to get back to him. "What is it? Are they losing air?"

"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host!"

The Doctor glanced over the staircase rail to where the Van Hoffs were still working on the Host. Unfortunately, they had just activated it again.

"It's working!" Morin announced with a cry of cheer.

The Doctor had broke down the stairs to get to them before the Host acted out. "Turn it off!" he called to the couple just before the Host began to attack.

Foon did her best to shut it off but the Host was latching onto her husband. "I can't, Doctor!"

The Doctor arrived and motioned Foon to make a run. "Go!"

Foon backed away up the stairs and let the Doctor do his work. He tried using the sonic on the Host to shut it off. "Lock! Double deadlock!" He gave up and out the sonic back in his pocket. Hands on, he pried Morvin free from the Host. "Okay, go upstairs!"

"Run, darling, run!" Foon called from above.

"Rickston! Get them through!" the Doctor shouted while actively trying to keep the Host back and give the others a chance to get through the opening upstairs.

Rickston took one look and saw the chances of survival decreasing by the second. "No chance!" He declared and went through the opening himself.

"Rickston!" Copper scoldingly called but the man was already getting through to Renata's and Astrid's side.

"How you're staying alive I have no idea," Renata glowered at Rickston as he came out.

"I'll never get through there," Foon whimpered at the sight of the narrow opening.

"Yes, you can. Let me go first," Copper said and made a hasty trip down the opening.

The Doctor stumbled back after giving a great big push at the Host. He then made a run for the stairs. "It's the Host! They've gone berserk! Are you safe up there?"

"Situation!" He heard the strained voice of Renata from the other side. They were in the middle of helping Foon get through but she was stuck.

"Come on, you can do it!" Astrid tried to pull as much as possible on Foon's hand without hurting her.

Meanwhile, Copper helped by using a metal pole as a lever to widen the space a little more. "It's going to collapse!"

Renata shot a look at Rickston who remained behind without so much of a worry. "Aren't you going to help!?"

"No... way," Rickston didn't think twice to answer.

Renata's anger bubbled but she couldn't waste time acting on it. She went back to helping. They luckily got Foon through but now the trouble was Morvin.

"Morvin, get through!" they heard the Doctor frantically shouting. Renata's hearts skipped a jolt at the sound of the Host coming closer with 'Kill. Kill. Kill.' as a chant.

"Doctor, he's stuck!" Astrid exclaimed.

The Doctor did what he had to do to survive. "Mr van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me!" He shoved Morvin Moving through by adding extra force from behind.

Renata could literally feel her hearts coming out her mouth seeing the Doctor still not crossing through. "Doctor, come on, get through!".

The Doctor was planning to but of course he couldn't go without making this near death experience count. "Information override! You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!" he shouted at the Host.

"I can't hold it!" Copper strained to keep the metal rod from falling.

"Information: Deck 31," the Host responded

"DOCTOR!" Renata urgently called. The Doctor scrambled through the hole, feeling Renata's hands latch onto his arms the moment she reached far enough. "Let it go!" she then ordered Cooper who instantly let the metal pole down.

"Are you okay!?" Renata asked the Doctor as they got up. Before the Doctor answered, the Host behind them had its head crushed and caused Renata to yelp.

"Fine, not to worry," the Doctor grinned like nothing had happened. Renata hated when he did that - it happened a _lot_.

Seeing they were relatively safe for the moment, the group continued pushing through the levels of the ship. They came across the kitchens and found it was empty of Host and people.

"Morvin, look, food," Foon motioned to a table still holding some plates of food.

"Oh great. Someone's happy," Rickston didn't fail to make a sarcastic remark.

"Don't have any then," Morvin snapped at him and walked off for his wife.

"Doctor, there's another comm. system," Renata pointed to the wall on their left. The Doctor nodded and walked up to it to contact Frame again. Renata followed right behind in case new trouble occurred.

"Mr. Frame, you still there?"

"Yes, sir, but I've got Host outside. I sealed the door."

"Has anyone actually figured out why they're set to kill all of a sudden?" Renata curiously asked. She knew all sorts of things ran through the Doctor's mind but at many times he didn't share his realizations.

"No," both men answered her.

"There's a new problem, Doctor," Frame admitted. "I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means... No one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you can fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."

The Doctor remained unbothered by the detail. "Yeah, right, fine. One problem at a time. What's on Deck 31?"

"Um, that's down below. It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

Because on the scanner beside the comm. system, both Time lords were seeing a whole square pitch black.

"Well, what's that?" the Doctor slipped on his pair of glasses. "See that panel? Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light." He missed the face Renata had because of his glasses.

"Never seen it before," Frame replied, also sounding confused.

"100% shielded. What's down there?"

"I'll try intensifying the scanner."

"Let me know if you find anything. And keep those engines going!" the Doctor finished the conversation and switched the comm. off. Once he pulled his glasses off, he finally saw Renata's stare. "What?"

"Why do you insist on wearing glasses when you don't need any?" there was a hint of frustration in her words.

"Well…" the Doctor wondered if he said the real reason how might Renata react. "I...just...I need…"

"You don't need them, you never have," Renata blurted her words.

"Now how would you know that?" the Doctor put away said glasses and suspiciously stared.

Renata's eyes widened. "Food," came out of her mouth and she started for the table.

"What - Renee!?"

"Oh my God!" Renata turned on her heels angrily. "That's not my name! Why do you always do that!?"

The Doctor's face filled with his own frustration. "Okay, you're gonna need to start explaining why you seem to know more about me than you let on."

Renata pulled back on her emotions. Thankfully, she didn't have to answer because Astrid had come over with plates of food.

"Saved you some," she showed them the plates, ignoring the tension she felt between them. "You might be a Time King and Queen from Gaddabee but you need to eat."

Renata's eyes flickered to the Doctor. "No thanks," she spat and walked away.

Astrid didn't think her going after Renata would be a good idea. Glumly, she offered a plate to the Doctor. With eyes glued to Renata - who was taking a lonesome stance across them against the wall - the Doctor took the plate from Astrid.

"Yeah, thanks," he mumbled and took a sad seat.

Astrid took a seat next to him, casting a brief glance at Renata. "You shouldn't argue, you know. It could help out, just saying."

The Doctor's eyes drifted to her. "Do you know what I don't?" Astrid's eyes looked quickly down at her plate. As she ate, the Doctor stared. " _Astrid_ ," the Doctor's voice hardened.

The blonde only smiled.

Copper came to join them. "Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is. Merry Christmas," the Doctor smiled momentarily until he laid eyes on Renata. On a whim decision, he pushed himself up, handing Astrid his plate who smiled upon realizing what he was doing. He walked towards Renata, but as he got closer he felt his feet becoming slower. "Renata?"

The blonde stood with half sideways so that the Doctor could only mildly see a bit of her face. At her name, Renata shifted her head more to the right and away from him. "Renata…" the Doctor reached for her arm and tried to turn her to him. She sniffled. "A-are you...crying?" the Doctor blinked.

Renata messily wiped her face with one hand, eyes still away from him. "No," came her strained voice.

"Renata…"

The blonde slowly looked at him, revealing red eyes.

"Renata, I didn't mean to make you cry-"

"Oh, it's not all about you," she cut him off midway with a casual wave of her hand. "After everything we just went through, don't you think I have many reasons to cry?"

The Doctor nodded. "I suppose."

Renata pulled on her own smile. "Then stop it."

"I just...I just would like to know how you seem to know so much about me," the Doctor explained in his calmest way.

Renata knew that was fair. It just didn't mean she wanted to do it. Things were already bumpy and tensed between them when they were just the last of their people. She knew it would only become a disaster if the Doctor knew she was Zuriah, the charity creator he was once in love with...and the woman he nearly ran away with on the eve of his wedding.

The idea was just too much for Renata. It scared her to bits.

"C'mon Doctor, you know everyone knew who you were on Gallifrey," she tried playing it casual and nice.

"Yes, but...the way you say things...it makes me think…"

Renata put a hand on his arm. "I learned what I learned through society. The infamous Doctor - how could I not?"

The Doctor had no reason not to believe that. Everyone knew him back home, whether it was for good or for bad, but everyone know about him. Perhaps Renata did know him through there...but then how come he couldn't fully accept it? Renata could see the conflict in his eyes and feared for her identity. How long could she keep it a secret?

"I _am_ actually hungry…" she decided to change topics for the moment. The Doctor was never one to miss a topic deliberately being changed, and since he didn't want to push them again he went with it.

Renata came first and Astrid, being happy to see the two of them somewhat back on good terms, offered Renata the Doctor's plate.

"You mind?" Renata asked the Doctor before she even reached for the plate. Although the Doctor thought it was fairly obvious, he went ahead and shook his head for her. Then, with a hidden smile, he watched Renata take the plate from Astrid. He shook his head again when she offered him what was on the plate.

"It's past midnight, you know," Astrid told Renata while the blonde Time Lady began to munch on some food. "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you," Renata said after properly swallowing. "Merry Christmas to you too. And you, Mr. Copper." Her eyes flickered to the Doctor and smiled after remembering how the human holiday used to drive him crazy back then. Apparently it was just so interesting and an outcry that Gallifrey didn't celebrate it. "And you, Doctor," she said, though struggled not to laugh.

"Merry Christmas…" the Doctor said back, trying to figure out what was so amusing to her. If only he knew.

"This Christmas thing, what's it all about?" asked Astrid who unknowingly pulled both Time Lords from their respective thoughts about each other.

"Long story. I should know, I was there. I got the last room," the Doctor shrugged ever so casually.

Renata's eyebrows raised. "Of course you were," she mumbled and continued to eat.

"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them?" Copper questioned after thinking on it for a minute or so. "They can send up a rocket or something."

"They don't have spaceships, Mr. Copper," Renata informed distractedly, more focus on the small vegetable portion on her plate. She hadn't realized how hungry she was!

"No, I read about it. They have shuffles, space shuffles…" Copper trailed off when he saw the Doctor's look.

"Mr Copper, this degree in Earthonomics,... where's it from?"

Copper didn't feel like he had the energy to keep up the facade, especially when they were so close to death. "Honestly?"

"It's not like we have anyone of interest to share," Renata continued to say without much thought.

"Mrs Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners," the man finally revealed.

The first to go into major shock was Astrid. "You - you lied to the company... to get the job?"

"I- I wasted my life on Sto," Copper felt embarrassed as he explained. "I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic."

"Don't tell them that - they'd get offended," Renata lowered her now empty plate. "I know I would be."

"That's not exactly what they'd call us…" the Doctor began, a bit grim when he got to thinking on the idea of their people.

"Shush," went the blonde. She knew what he was thinking. Their people were hated by many, and even more so when the war started.

"How do you two know it?" Astrid looked at the two curiously.

"I lived there…" Renata said confidently before she remembered how the Doctor came along and glared at him, "...until someone got the idea to literally steal me away."

"Oh c'mon-" the Doctor groaned.

"What - you _stole_ me!" Renata exclaimed. "How is it suddenly a bad a thing to tell you your truths?"

Astrid cleared her throat, hoping they wouldn't get into another round of argument. She looked at Copper then and silently wished for him to keep talking.

He did have something to say, it just wasn't very lively. "Thing is, if we survive this, there will be police and all sorts of investigations. Now the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well, I won't survive ten years."

Before either Time Lord could reassure him that they wouldn't let that happen to him, a Host banged on the entrance door.

"A Host! Move! Come on!" the Doctor urged the others to follow him. He grabbed Renata's hand and yanked her after him, causing her to drop her plate.

"Doctor! We broke a plate!" she shouted.

"Are you kidding me!?" he incredulously asked of her.

"It was a plate! And it wasn't ours!" the blonde went on, pretty adamant on their wrongings.

The Doctor shook his head at her priorities. The next room happened to have a way out...through a makeshift bridge of fallen strut, right above the engines bursting with fire below.

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston asked the question everyone had been thinking about the moment they'd come in.

"On the other hand, it is a way across," the Doctor pointed out to them.

"But the engines are open…" Renata drawled, eyes glued to the bottom.

"Nuclear storm drive. Soon as it stops, the Titanic falls!"

"But that thing, it'll never take our weight," Morvin was staring down in despair.

Beside him, Rickston gave a low mutter. "You're going last, mate."

"It's nitrofine metal. It's stronger than it looks," the Doctor reassured Morvin after Rickston's distasteful comment.

"All the same, Rickston's right. Me and Foon should -" Morvin accidentally stepped on a weak piece of metal near the ledge and tumbled over.

"Morvin!" Foon cried and rushed closer to the ledge in time to catch her husband screaming as he went down into the engines.

No one in the group could believe what they just saw. Of course, there was one that just did not care.

"I told you! I told you!" Rickston exclaimed.

"A man just died!" Renata turned on him rather quick. "Again! And you don't seem to care which is very...monstrous," Rickston scoffed at her, apparently not at all bothered with the insult.

"Bring him back! Can't you bring him back?" Foon said hysterically to the Doctor. "Bring him back, Doctor!"

"I'm sorry, I can't," the Doctor shook his head at her, feeling terrible he really couldn't do anything.

"You promised me!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"

"Doctor, I rather think those things have got our scent," Copper interjected as they heard some banging on the door behind them.

"I'm not waiting," Rickston decided and headed for the makeshift bridge.

"Careful…" Renata didn't even bother to at least be polite with him anymore. "Or not. Who the hell bloody cares."

Of course then the ship rocked a little bit and nearly had Rickston falling over.

"I hate this me," Renata cursed herself under her breath. Because no matter how much she could hate someone, she always did end up caring just a little bit if they were safe.

"You're okay," the Doctor called to Rickston. "One step at a time. Come on, you can do it."

"Doctor, the door…" Renata looked back at the door where she was sure she could hear 'kill, kill, kill" once again.

The Doctor turned around and walked to the door, determinedly. "Seal us in." He whipped out his sonic and used it on the door to seal them in the room.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?" Copper nervously asked.

"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced," the Doctor promptly responded and turned back for them.

"Uh _no_ ," Renata began, "Actually, I would say it's more-"

"Renata," the Doctor sharply said her name enough to make her wince and stop.

She supposed maybe this time she wouldn't tell him his truth and just let the others follow his words blindly. She glanced over at Foon who was crying for her husband while Astrid tried in vain to comfort her.

"Yes! Oh yes! Who's good?!" they heard Rickston cheering and nearly doing a happy dance once he safely got across the bridge.

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," the Doctor said to the red alien.

"Bannakaffalatta, small!"

"Slowly!"

The Host had finally come to the door and began pounding on it for it to open.

"Renata, get across right now," the Doctor had grabbed her by the arm to lead her to the bridge before she could properly answer.

"No, not until you get across too," she pulled her arm back. She wasn't about to have another moment where he would dangerously be close to the Hosts again.

The Doctor saw the determination in her eyes and sighed. "Alright. Astrid? You need to get across," he said to the other woman. "And Mr. Copper, you too. Please don't argue." As the two reluctantly made for the bridge, the Doctor moved over to Foon. "Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"What for? What am I gonna do without him?" the woman relentlessly cried.

"Doctor! The door's locked!" Rickston called from the other side, hand still on the handle to gesture it was indeed locked.

Renata pushed the Doctor to the side, giving him a look. "Let me try. I know the exactly what she's feeling." The Doctor seriously nodded, believing her words just by her face. Renata got closer to Foon and sighed. "I'm not even going to tell you 'what would Morvin want' because it doesn't matter - he's dead. But you know what? Because he died, you can't die too or else you can't honor him. You can't remember him. Because when your husband dies, the only thing left to do is honor them by remembering them and keeping all those beautiful memories alive. No one else is going to do that, Foon. Only you."

The Doctor silently watched from behind, his hearts clenching at Renata's words. He felt ashamed to admit to himself that he never once thought about 'honoring' or 'remembering' his own late wife. Of course that didn't mean he was happy for her to die in the war, but he just...he couldn't find the necessary love to...actually _feel_ like a heartbroken husband who lost his wife...at least not the way Renata apparently did. That must have been what a true marriage was like, he thought.

Unfortunately, Foon couldn't see past her hysteria. She pushed Renata away from her and continued to sob.

"Doctor, I can't open the door. We need the whirring key thing of yours!" Rickston shouted once more from across, this time more desparate.

"We can't leave her!" the Doctor argued, gesturing to Foon.

"She'll get us all killed if we can't get out!"

And it pained both the Doctor and Renata to admit Rickston was right for once.

"Foon, please…" Renata tried her hand one more time. "Come with us. We can…"

"No, no, no," Foon shook her head at her.

"But Foon-"

The Doctor decided time was up. He hurried to them and grabbed Renata by the arm. "Mrs Van Hoff, I am coming back for you, all right?" Foon gave a nod, letting them go.

"But Doctor-" Renata barely got to say when the Doctor hurried them both to the bridge. "Doctor! I could save-"

"No! Get going!" he carefully got her to the bridge first. As soon as he stepped onto the bridge, it creaked.

"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta squeaked.

"Oi! Don't get spiky with me! Keep going!"

"It's gonna fall!" Astrid worried as the metal continued to creak.

"It's just settling! Keep going!"

They each took a couple more steps until Renata realized there was no more banging on the door. Because of that, she stopped. "The Hosts...they've just...stopped?" that didn't sit right with her. Anyone who'd been used to fighting would know that an enemy never just gave up.

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta sounded confused yet the tiniest bit of hopeful.

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor glanced back at the door where not a peep could be heard.

"We both know they wouldn't," Renata said slowly, feeling a chill go down her back.

"Never mind that. Keep coming!" Rickston waved a hand for them to continue.

"Where have they gone? Where are the Host?" the Doctor mumbled.

"I'm afraid...we forgot the tradition of Christmas - that angels have wings!" Copper's voice shook once he caught site of the Host gliding down from above them.

"Information: kill." The Host encircled them in order to attack.

"Doctor…" Renata's eyes widened.

"Arm yourselves! All of you!" the Doctor's voice filled the room.

They each reached down for an item to attack with, mostly pipes or bits of metals. When the Host began throwing their halos at them, each would bat them away like it was a baseballs. But even as they fought at their best, the Host proved to be stronger. Copper had a half thrown at his leg, causing him to drop his metal pipe. The Doctor was grazed on the arm. Renata had a halo surprise her on the side, making her drop her own pipe and nearly fall back.

"I can't!" Astrid too fell under the losses.

"Bannakaffalatta stop!" the little alien let go of his defense weapon and decided to use the only thing he was sure could save his friends. "Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta, cyborg!" He revealed his metal chest and released strong energy rays that shot all the Host down.

"Oh my God!" Renata yelped when one Host fell directly behind the Doctor on the bridge.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics. Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!" the Doctor was facing the alien, happily until Bannakaffalatta fell on the bridge.

Astrid rushed to his side to check on him. "He's used all his power!"

"Did good?" Bannakaffalatta asked her in a strained voice.

"You saved our lives," Astrid thought that should be an answer.

"Bannakaffalatta happy."

Astrid saw the life force leaving him and she panicked. "We can recharge you, get you to a power point and just plug you in!"

"Too late…"

Astrid's eyes filled with tears. "No, but...you gotta get me that drink, remember?"

"Pretty girl," Bannakaffalatta closed his eyes and died.

Astrid's years fell down her cheeks. She went to button his shirt again when Copper reached for his power source. "Leave him alone," she snapped.

"It's the EMP transmitter. He - he'd want us to use it," Copper made her see. She looked away as he pulled the device out. "I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

Rickston's loud scoff made everyone look at the man. "Do you think? Try telling _him_ that." He was pointing behind the Doctor where the only Host had fallen.

"Information: reboot," it was waking up.

"Use the EMP!" Rickston shouted again.

"It's dead!" Copper reminded.

"It's gotta have emergency -" Renata made to take the device herself to find an emergency overriding setting but the Doctor had another idea.

"No, no, no. Hold on!" he turned to face the Host. "Override loophole security protocol... Ten! 666! Oh. 21, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Um, I dunno, 42! Uh, one!"

The Host stopped and remained still. "Information: state request."

"You have some luck," Renata shook her head behind the Doctor.

"Good...right," the Doctor agreed with her then got to business. "You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the Titanic so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me!" the Doctor pouted like a child.

"Thank you for that brilliant idea of yours," Renata muttered.

"Information: now you will die."

As the Host prepared to strike at the Doctor, Renata reached for him again in outright fear. However, just as her fingers touched his arm, they saw a lasso being thrown over the Host's head and promptly tightened.

"You're coming with me!" Foon had captured him and with a determined face, she closer her eyes and jumped over the side into the engines. The Host went down with her too.

"Nooooo!" Renata felt her hearts stop. Her eyes filled with tears in no time. "I didn't save her," she said distraughtly.

"No more," the Doctor determinedly declared. He took Renata's hand, no questions asked, and motioned the others to keep walking.

They crossed the door with the sonic's help amd found themselves in another set of maintenance halls. "Right," the Doctor let go of Renata's hand, missing her tear-stained face as he began making commands. "Get up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mr Copper. You've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting an SOS. Astrid, you're in charge of this-" he held out the EMP to her. "Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Rickston, take this-" he then handed his sonic over to Rickston. "I've preset it. Just hold down that button. It'll open doors. Do not lose it! You got that? Now go and open the next door. Go on! Go!"

"All right!" Rickston got a head start.

The Doctor moved to find a first aid kid nearby and gave it to Copper. "Mr Copper, I need you fighting fit. Astrid, where's the power point?"

"Under the comms," the blonde dutifully responded.

"No," Renata whispered as soon as the Doctor turned to her.

"I didn't-"

"Whatever your idea is, I'm coming with you."

"I knew he sounded like he wasn't coming," Astrid mumbled and started for the power point.

"Renata, I think it would be better for you-'

"Let me get this straight for you," Renata jabbed a finger on the Doctor's chest. "I couldn't save Foon, and I couldn't save anyone back at home-" she gritted her teeth, and suddenly the Doctor was stark silent, "-so I am _not_ letting you out of my sight because we-" she gestured between them, "-are the last of our kind and I don't _ever_ want to be known as the last of my race do you understand?" Her face had gone to the verge of crying again. It really looked like she would just burst at any second.

"Okay," the Doctor gave in. "Just...just stay close."

"Okay." Renata took in a shaky breath and returned to Astrid, the Doctor preferred to doddle after that outburst. Renata met Astrid who seemed to be studying her all of a sudden. "What?"

"I don't get it," Astrid spoke unusually quiet, her eyes briefly flickering to the Doctor on the side. "You obviously had feelings for each other in that past you spoke about earlier, and things sounded okay...how did you end up...?"

"Like this?" Renata gestured to their current situation and Astrid nodded. Renata sighed and gave the only thing she could give, a sad smile full of regret. "Because my sister found out about us."

Astrid's eyes widened with even more curiosity than before. "And what-" the EMP beeped that it was finished recharging.

"Let's see that, shall we?" the Doctor came over and unknowingly shut down the conversation.

Astrid knew better than to keep asking questions with him. "Are you two really going to go down to That deck 31 thing?" she couldn't help worry for them. "What if you meet a Host?"

"Well, then we'll just...have some fun, eh?" the Doctor did his best to sound hopeful but Renata's face contradicted him greatly.

"Sounds like you do this kind of thing all the time," Astrid remarked with a small smile. "You do all the running-" she nodded to the Doctor, "-and you-" she nodded to Renata, "-do all the taking care of him part."

"Recently," Renata sighed but then realized that wasn't entirely true if she counted all the moments from Gallifrey. Hell, that's how they met. He did something bad and she was set as his practice babysitter. _Oh Doctor._

"Not by chance," the Doctor gave a shrug of his shoulders. "All I do is travel-"

"And steal," Renata made sure to remind.

He rolled his eyes while Astrid chuckled. "I am just a traveller. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss, just the open sky."

Astrid bit her lip as she decided whether or not to speak up what she had in mind. "I'm sort of...unemployed now and I was thinking the blue box is kinda small, but I could kinda squeeze in. Like a stowaway." Both Time Lords glanced at each other, equally surprised. "I mean, whenever you don't want to take care of him, I could," she said for Renata's benefit.

"Hey," the Doctor pouted. Renata snickered beside him.

"I've got no one back on Sto, no family, just me. So what do you think?" Astrid anxiously waited. "Can I come with you?"

It was clear as day that Renata was all for the idea. She liked Astrid and that was just aside from the fact that Astrid knew more about her than the Doctor at the moment.

The Doctor took one look at Renata before he agreed to Astrid's request. He also thought it would be nice to have someone else with them to take some of the tension off them. "Yeah, I'd like that. Yes."

No one had time to celebrate properly because the ship once again lurched forwards and rocked them with it. When it was over, the Doctor pushed himself for the comm.

"Mr Frame, you still with us?"

"It's the engines, sir. Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left!"

"Don't worry, I'll get there."

Renata blinked. "Eight minutes? Seems a little far fetched don't you think?"

"It'll be fine," the Doctor shushed.

"The bridge is sealed off!" Frame also reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, working on it. I'll get there, Mr Frame, somehow."

"But there's no way in!" Renata exclaimed.

The Doctor groaned. "You're a hopeful one, aren't you?"

There was not a trace of amusement in Renata. "I was just saying you need to calculate a proper plan instead of just hoping and winging it!"

The Doctor pulled the EMP from the charger and handed it to Astrid then turned completely to Renata. "This is how I work!"

"Well, no one ever said it was a _good_ way to work!"

"If you want to keep travelling this is how it goes!"

"But I didn't!" Renata grew tired of reminding. " _You_ _stole_ me!" she gestured with her hands to him.

Astrid could almost facepalm. "Um, maybe if you could save the ship first and then argue...that...that would be good."

Renata mumbled an apology. They stopped their bickering and got back to work. They sent Astrid along with Copper and Rickston who were waiting for her near the end of the room. Then, the two Time Lords headed back in the direction they'd come through. They didn't make it past the kitchen because Hosts were already waiting for them.

"What now!?" Renata hissed beside the Doctor.

"Security protocol one! Do you hear me? One! One!" the Doctor ventured for the same trick and luckily stopped the Host in their tracks. "Okay, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, am I right?"

Renata groaned. "That was one!"

"Information: correct," the Host responded at the Doctor.

"No, that wasn't one of them. I didn't mean it," the Doctor inwardly slapped himself. "That's not fair. Can I start again?"

Renata face palmed.

"Information: no," the Host said.

"No, no! No, no, no. That wasn't one either!" the Doctor groaned. "Blimey. One question left. One question."

"We're so going to die," Renata looked at him angrily.

"Shush," the Doctor started to think of how he would frame this question. "So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not us. We're not passengers. We're not staff. Go on, scan us."

Renata wasn't sure if it was a good thing that the Host were now fully scanning them. Wouldn't that just get them killed even quicker? She never understood the Doctor's plans.

"You must have bio records. No such persons on board. We don't exist therefore...you can't kill us. Therefore, we're stowaways and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on Deck 31. Final question: am I right?"

"Information: correct."

Renata's mouth fell open. "I can't believe that... _worked_."

"Take me to your leader," the Doctor giddly said to the Host. "I've always wanted to say that."

"What for?" Renata asked.

"Oh that's right, you missed the big movie…"

"When you _stole_ me!?"

The Doctor could picture this being an ongoing theme that would follow them for centuries and centuries in their future.

~0~

The Doctor and Renata were escorted to Deck 31 by the Host. The fact it was out of order including small random fires around alerted Renata this was about to get ten times more dangerous. And yet, surprisingly, the Doctor didn't show an ounce of fear.

"Now that is what you call a fixer-upper," he mused. "Come on then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours, who is it?"

"Are you sure we really want to find out?" Renata mumbled to him just as a set of double doors behind them opened up.

The two turned around, and once again the Doctor grinned. "Ooh, that's clever. That's an omnistat impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in that, eh?"

"What…?" Renata's eyebrows lifted at the sight of some high tech, metal vehicle began wheeling out.

"It's enough to sit through a supernova or a shipwreck without getting a scratch," the Doctor remarked. "Only one person can have the power and the money to hide themselves onboard like this and I should know, 'cause…"

The vehicle revealed itself be a giant life-support system for Max Capricorn who was only a head now. "My name is Max," he flashed a smile and and his gold tooth glinted.

"It actually does that," Renata grimaced.

"Who the hell are they?" Capricorn scorned at their presence.

"I'm the Doctor. Hello," the Doctor raised a hand to wave. "And this is Renata."

"I don't think he truly cares," Renata whispered not that the Doctor cared.

"Information: stowaways," the Host informed.

"Kill him," Capricorn didn't even blink when he made the order.

"Doctor!" Renata gasped as the Host threatingly turned on them.

"Oh, no, no!" the Doctor set himself in front of her. "Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max...You've given us so much good material like...How to get ahead in business. See "head"? "Head in business"? No?"

"Doctor, is this really a good time to joke?" Renata asked from behind.

"Oh, ho ho, the office joker. I like a funny man," Capricorn did stop the Host, much to Renata's surprise. "No one's been funny with me for years."

"I can't think why."

"176 years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but...nice wheels…" the Doctor eyed the vehicle.

"No, a life-support system in a society that despises cyborgs," Capricorn sneered. "I've had to hide away for years. Running the company by hologram."

"Oh…" Renata moved to be beside the Doctor again, "...I'm sorry."

The Doctor incredulously looked at her. Of course she would apologize to the man who almost killed them.

"Host, situation report," Capricorn demanded.

"Information: Titanic is still in orbit."

"Let me see," Capricorn wheeled towards the edge where the engines were. "We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong?

"The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"But when they do, the Earth gets roasted," Renata frowned. "I don't understand. What's the Earth got to do with it?"

"This interview is terminated!"

"I didn't know there was an interview going on in the first place!"

"Hold on! Hold on!" the Doctor jumped in . "Wait! Wait! Wait! I can work it out!"

"It's not a game!" Renata exclaimed.

"Shush!"

"But-"

"I said shush!" the Doctor paused for a moment to think. "Business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh yes!"

Renata could not believe her ears. "Oh yes? You're cheering!?"

"No! The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense!"

Capricorn did not even bother to deny it. In his mind, the two were going to die anyways. "My own board voted me out. Stabbed me in the back."

"Sorry," Renata blurted.

"Stop saying sorry to him!" went the Doctor, utterly frustrated with her way of handling confrontations. He would have thought that it was a given she should never apologize to an enemy unless said enemy was on the road to changing.

"So, you scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value. Oh, but that's not enough. No, 'cause if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

"And... the whole board thrown in jail for mass murder," Capricorn maniacally smiled.

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber," the Doctor finished in a low voice.

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of...metal."

Renata grimaced. "So your plan is a _retirement_ plan just to meet women?" she felt so indignant on behalf of those who died. The Van Hoffs and Bannakkaffalatta had died because a poor rich man lost his mind. "There were 2000 people on this ship and there's 6 billion more on Earth who are going to be _slaughtered_ slaughtered because you're…" the words cut off involuntarily to let her mind come up with a right word, "...some _loser_!"

The Doctor looked down at her with such pride. So that's what she looked like when she was truly mad.

"I never lose!" Capricorn argued but Renata hollered with a loud "Ha!"

"You can't even sink the Titanic!" she gestured, full of sarcasm which was also a first for the Doctor.

"Oh, but I can. I can cancel the engines from here," Capricorn smirked.

Renata's facade vanished at the sound of alarms.

"You can't do this!" the Doctor shouted.

"Host, hold them," ordered Capricorn.

"What!?" Renata felt metal hands clamp down on her arms. She saw the Doctor in the same situation and both were pulled back.

"Not so clever now, Doctor. A shame we couldn't work together," Capricorn remarked. "Without the naggy blonde of course."

"HEY!" went the blonde in question.

"Time for me to retire. The Titanic is falling. The sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh! Oh, Host! Kill them."

"Ah, Doctor!" Renata practically whimpered when one of the Host not holding them pulled his halo up. The Doctor budged against the grip on him but it didn't work.

However, Astrid appeared in a forklift. As if she would ever let either go out without her. "Mr Capricorn! I resign!" she started the forklift and zoomed to Capricorn.

"Astrid, don't!" Renata cried.

Astrid had enough force to lift a bit of Capricorn's life support. The Host meant to kill her and threw his halo at her but missed narrowly by hitting the breakline instead.

"He's cut the break line!" the Doctor pushed further against the Host to try and help Astrid.

Astrid realized there was only one way to end all things and took a deep breath to get on it. She glanced at Renata and the Doctor, smiling so softly, and then she put forth gear into the fork. Picking up Capricorn's entire life support, she rammed them over the edge.

"NOO!" Renata screamed at the top of her lungs. It was then that Host holding her and the Doctor let them go, since Capricorn's authority had been cancelled out.

Both of them rapidly ran for the edge but all they saw was Astrid falling to the engines with her hands reaching for them.

Renata couldn't contain her tears and she burst into sobs. The Doctor had had enough deaths for the night that tears wouldn't suffice. He pulled Renata, or at least tried to anyways as she was actively pushing him away. She wouldn't budge from the edge much like Foon had when Morvin died.

"We've got to go, Renee!"

Too deep in her pain, she didn't even lash out at him for using the nickname she clearly didn't like. The Doctor used all his Time Lord strength against hers and ultimately won by a little bit, which was surprising to him if he had time to think on it. He brought her away from the ledge and since the Host now had no leader, he easily claimed the authority over them with a simple sonic trick.

~ 0 ~

In the main bridge, Midshipman Frame was doing everything he could to keep the ship from crashing. He lost major focus when Host fists broke through the floor. The Doctor was the first to climb through.

"C'mon!" he reached down to help Renata come up as well. She hadn't been very with the idea but her emotions weren't exactly in the position to allow her to put up a good argument.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame at last!" the Doctor turned to Frame soon as Renata was safely in the room.

Frame's eyes were glued to the Host who had yet to make a move. "Uh, but-but the Host!"

"Controller dead they divert to the next highest authority and that's me," the Doctor waved it off and moved for the controls.

"There's nothing we can do. There's no power. The ship's gonna fall."

It didn't seem to be a problem for the Doctor, or at least he wasn't showing it. "What's your first name?"

"Alonzo."

The Doctor just stopped. "You're _kidding_ me."

Both Frame and Renata were left waiting for the Doctor's reasoning. "What?" they both asked.

"That's something else I've always wanted to say," the Doctor smiled for the first time. "Allons-y Alonzo! Whoa!"

"Oh my God…" Renata rolled his eyes at his childish way but the ship lurched forwards dramatically and ended that argument before it even got started.

As they fell through Earth's atmosphere, she and Frame screamed. The Doctor couldn't afford that luxury as he fought the wheel. An alarm blared in the room and because he had no hands left, the Doctor raised his foot to check what exactly was in trouble. It turned out to be the impact zone.

"Ah," he rolled his eyes at the irony. "Renee! I need you!" As she could, Renata pushed herself through the bridge until she was up at the wheel. "Call the Buckingham Palace."

A deep confusion etched itself on her face. "What? Why!?"

"JUST DO IT!"

Flinching, Renata reached for the comm. to do as told. The Doctor instructed her exactly what to say once the line had been picked up. Because there was a great risk for the ship landing straight on the palace. The closer they got to the city, the faster the ship went. Everyone save for the Doctor, who was really growing a more deliriously determined face, screamed for dear life. He put his strength at test in pulling the ship back up, and he did...but just narrowly missing the Buckingham Palace.

A big gasp escaped the Doctor's lips as he pulled the ship back into the sky. Once he sure they were out of danger, he found the emotion to laugh. Renata, too, let out a big sigh of relief. Her eyes looked out at the view and felt an immediate swell of her hearts. She turned away from the view and automatically reached to hug the Doctor from the side.

"You have some _luck_!" her words were muffled through the loud sound of wind and the ship rocking.

The Doctor beamed at her hug.

Later, when the ship was finally stabilized in space, the Doctor pulled back from the wheel and went back to Frame. The poor man had a bullet wound and still needed to be treated. Renata stopped by a portrait of Max Capricorn on the brink of falling from the wall, already with a couple of sparks coming out of it. She pulled it down and let it drop to the floor, and with one small look she stomped her shoe on it, swiveling her heel to make sure it was completely dead. She blew on her hair and looked up to see both the Doctor and Frame giving her a look.

"Anything to say?" she challenged and quickly had both of them shaking their heads. "Good. He deserves that and more for what he did to Astrid. If she hadn't teleported there then maybe she wouldn't-"

"Teleport," the Doctor suddenly whispered.

"What?"

"She was wearing a teleport bracelet!" judging by the big grin that magically appeared on his face, Renata guessed it was a way to save Astrid. The Doctor ran out of the room and in the next second so had Renata.

They made it all the way back into the reception room where Copper and Rickston were.

"Rickston! Sonic!" the Doctor demanded and the man threw said sonic over to him. "Mr Copper, the teleports, have they got emergency settings?"

"I don't know. They should have," Copper glanced back at the teleport controller.

"Astrid fell, Mr. Copper," Renata informed sadly. "But the Doctor says we can use the teleport to bring her back."

"What's the emergency code?" the Doctor was now working on the teleporter.

"What the hell are you doing?" Frame eyed the man pulling a couple of wires.

"We can bring her back!"

"If a passenger has an accident on shore leave and they're still wearing their teleport, their molecules are automatically suspended and held in stasis so that we can just trigger the shift," Copper explained to Frame.

"Doctor?" Renata anxiously waited for him to finish.

"There!" he stepped back and looked ahead where a glowing figure began to appear.

It rearranged itself to be a transparent version of Astrid. Her eyes were locked ahead yet it seemed like she was staring into nothing. Her slurred voice even sounded distant. "I'm falling."

"It's not working," Renata whipped her head at the Doctor, hoping he could another of his tricks to get Astrid fully back.

The Doctor got back to work. "Only halfway there, c'mon!"

"I'm falling. I keep falling," Astrid kept repeating over and over.

"C'mon Doctor," Renata urged from the other side of the teleporter. "Please."

"Feed back the molecule grid, boost it with the restoration matrix- no!" the Doctor had to pull away when the teleporter spewed out sparks.

Even Renata was forced back. "What's happening!?" she exclaimed.

"Need more phase containment!"

"H-how do we do that!?" Renata couldn't see the teleporter getting free from its sparks. Her hearts sunk when she made the realization Astrid was not coming back.

"If I can just link up the surface suspension…" the Doctor fought the teleporter again and used his sonic in its internal wiring. Renata could see he was doing literally everything, probably even the impossible, just to get Astrid back. A part of her thought maybe he was doing this for her too since she was latching onto him to save her friend.

"Doctor, she's gone," Mr. Copper said.

"I just need to override the safety. I can do it!"

Renata felt a pang in her hearts seeing the Doctor so frustrated and yet still not giving up. It was exactly who she'd met centuries ago when they were both so young and...inexperienced.

"Doctor, let her go," Mr. Copper insisted.

The Doctor had no choice but to give up. He kicked the teleport angrily and then locked eyes with Renata. "I'm sorry," he almost begged.

Renata moved around the teleport to take his hands, a gesture she had yet to do since they re-met. "No, it's not...it's not your fault."

"I can do anything…" the words failed him. He cast a look back at Astrid's ghost self.

"Stop me falling…" she went.

Renata eyed the Doctor's sonic still in one of his hands and thought of an alternative idea. "Maybe...maybe you can do another thing for her." The Doctor met her look again and followed it to his sonic. "She said she wanted to meet the stars…she's practically stardust as it is...maybe if we push…"

The Doctor gave a small nod. He pulled his hands from hers and turned to Astrid, taking aim at her with the sonic. "Astrid Peth... citizen of Sto... the woman who looked at the stars and dreamt of travelling. Now you can travel forever." And when the sonic re-activated, it opened up a small porthole window across the room. It rearranged Astrid's figure into bits of light that started going for the window. "You're not falling, Astrid, you're _flying_."

Renata sniffled and looked away.

~ 0 ~

A while later, Frame, returned from the bridge after getting in touch with superiors. "The engines have stabilized. We're holding steady till we get help and I've sent the SOS. A rescue ship should be here within twenty minutes. And they're digging out the records of Max Capricorn. It should be quite a story."

"They'll want to talk to all of us, I suppose," Mr. Copper said nervously.

"I'd have thought so, yeah."

Copper nodded and wandered to where Renata and the Doctor remained. Neither had crossed word since they released Astrid.

"I think, uh, one or two inconvenient truths might come to light," the man sighed. "Still, it's my own fault, and then years in jail is better than dying."

"Doctor...I never said...thank you," Rickston stopped by as well, even surprising with a hug. "The funny thing is...I said Max Capricorn was falling apart. Just before the crash, I ...sold all my shares, transferred them to his rivals. It's made me rich. What do you think of that?"

Incredulity filled Renata.

Rickston's phone rang and of course the man excitedly picked up and began to walk away. "Salvain? Those shares, I want them triple-bonded and locked…"

"Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he?" Copper spoke the thoughts that passed through their minds. "But if you could choose, if you decide who lives and who dies...that would make you a monster."

Renata exchanged a look with the Doctor. The blonde bit her lip and turned to the teleport behind them. "I don't break the rules," she said, although she wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or just a knowledgeable fact about herself for Copper to know. "But you, Mr. Copper, are going to be my one exception. I think you deserve one of these."

Copper blinked as Renata held out a teleport bracelet. The Doctor then started the machine, and just before they were to disappear to Earth, he gave a proper salute to Frame who returned the gesture. Somewhere in London, the trio appeared in an open space covered with snow and with a perfect view of a lake and the city.

"So, Great Britain is part of, uh, "Europee" and just across the British Channel you've got Great France and Great Germany…" Copper explained as they walked down after spotting the TARDIS from a distance.

"No, no, it's just - it's just France and Germany. Only Britain is great," Renata corrected softly.

"Oh, and they're all at war with the continent of Ham-erica?"

"No."

"Well...not yet, uh...could argue that one," the Doctor briefly said for fear of spoilers. He came to a stop in front of the TARDIS and felt a big relief to see his home again. "There she is. Survive anything."

"With you, it needs all the luck she can get," he heard Renata not so discreetly mumble.

"You know, between us, I don't even thing this snow is real," Copper stared up at the sky where it was currently snowing. "I think this is the ballast from the Titanic's salvage entering the atmosphere."

"Yeah. One of these days it might snow for real," the Doctor thought back to the previous christmas which entailed alien chaos as well, and then the one before that…

"So, I - I suppose you'll be off," Copper saw him nearing the TARDIS door handle.

"The open sky…"

"And, uh, what about me?"

"It's best if it stays between Renata and I," the Doctor said, full of confidence in that. "It's best that way."

Renata knew they couldn't just leave Mr. Copper to his luck on a foreign planet. She walked up to the Doctor with a meaningful look. "We have to help him. We brought him here."

"Give me that credit card," the Doctor moved around Renata. Copper held out the credit cart he had with him from the tour.

"Well, it's just petty cash, spending money. It's all done by computer. I - I didn't really know the currency so I thought a million might cover it."

Both Renata and the Doctor froze.

"I'm sorry...did you say a million?" Renata blinked. "Like...pounds?"

Copper had yet to catch up with the stunned faces on them. "That enough for trinkets?"

"Mr Copper, a million pounds is worth 50 million credits," the Doctor clarified, leaving the man to gape.

"How much?"

"50 million and 56," the Doctor said after calculating mentally the exact amount.

'I-I've got money!"

"Yes, you have!" Renata chuckled at Copper who was taking the news better than ever. And really, who wouldn't?

"Oh my word," Copper took back the credit card. "Oh my vot! Oh my goodness me! I – Ya-ha!"

"It's all yours - Planet Earth," the Doctor gestured. "Now that's a retirement plan. But just you be careful, though."

"I will. I will. Oh, I will!"

"No interfering. I don't want any trouble. Just...just have a nice life," the Doctor honestly said for the man.

"But I can have a house, a proper house, with a garden, and - and a door, and...Oh, Doctor, I will made you proud!" Copper promised and hugged the Doctor. He moved onto Renata, happier than ever. "And you too! And - and I can have a kitchen with chairs, and windows, and lace…"

Renata couldn't help laugh as the man began to skip off happily. "Um, Mr. Copper, where are you going?"

"Why, I have no idea!" he exclaimed and laughed.

Renata laughed again.

He stopped again, however, and gave them a final glance. "But, Doctor, Renata... I won't forget her."

"Us neither," Renata said, slightly sadder. How could she forget the one person besides Martha who knew more about her than the man standing beside her?

"Merry Christmas, Mr Copper," the Doctor waved but Copper was far too deep in his newfound joy.

"Well, at least someone got a happy ending," Renata sighed and turned to the Doctor.

"I _am_ sorry about Astrid-"

Renata put a hand on his arm, smiling softly at him. "You did what you could, I saw it. Everyone saw it. The only thing now to do is...remember them. Remember everyone who didn't make it and keep their memories alive."

The Doctor nodded. "Now, Renee-"

The annoyed sigh merely stopped him, but never did it make a difference. "So, we're just going to stick with that nickname, aren't we?" Renata frowned. Like a child, the Doctor shrugged. Renata shook her head. "I picked my name for a reason, Doctor."

"For the naming ceremony?" the Doctor couldn't help eagerly ask. It was the first thing she was sharing willingly that had to do with their home.

"Mhm." Renata felt a bit nervous explaining it, considering he was part of the reason behind the name, even if he didn't know it then nor now. "Renata means to be 'reborn' and...to be a different person."

The Doctor could see in her eyes that there was far more meaning behind...but he wasn't sure if he was allowed to ask about it at the moment. Even though it was painful, he understood things needed to be taken slow.

"And I planned to put the name to use right after my graduation," Renata continued slowly, careful not to disclose anything that could tip him off about her true identity. "I wanted to be a new person when I entered society."

"Well...you do know that 'Renee' is a common derivation from 'Renata' and it has the same meaning so technically I'm not disrespecting your wishes," the Doctor nearly rambled the long explanation.

A smile spread across Renata's mouth. "So what I'm hearing is that...we're not going to give up the name?"

"Uh...no."

With a playful roll of her eyes, Renata walked into the TARDIS. Soon as she was met with the warmth from the console, she felt like she was finally completely safe. She turned to the side and met the Doctor's look.

"I know that I said we would talk afterwards but…"

The Doctor walked in and closed the door behind. "Whenever you are ready, I will be too."

"Thank you so much," Renata relaxed but still ventured to explain just one thing. "But I am going to leave it clear that I _never_ wanted to hurt you, Martha or Jack. I swear that my plan was to find my manipulator and then use it for the Master and I. I was always going to send the TARDIS back just a couple seconds after we originally left the future. I swear by all the Gods."

"I believe you," the Doctor said after taking a good look at her eyes. Now that he wasn't angry himself, he coul think clearly and see for himself the honesty Renata was displaying.

Renata put her hands around his, feeling her hearts swell. "Thank you."

"I just...I just want to ask, why did he take you? I don't...I don't understand," the Doctor admitted. "You don't have to explain right now, like you said...I just would like to know because...because I have never seen someone stand up to him like that and live."

Renata's eyebrows raised for a moment. "Um...I was his sister-in-law. I was married to his younger brother, Elek."

The Doctor had few recollections of the man in question. He used to be best friends with the Master of course, at one point in their lives, and he did have vague memories of the Master describing his younger brother. But it was only that - small blips of conversations.

"He and I are family, despite it all," Renata swallowed hard. "But...but in the end...he was just...maniacal." She closed her eyes, feeling an enormous amount of guilt in her chest. Part of his hatred for the Doctor during the Year that never was came from the revealtion of her and the Doctor's relationship on Gallifrey.

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor took her hands resting over his and covered them with his own. "I can't...I really can't imagine…"

"Oh, but I think we can share a little bit of similarities," Renata breathed in softly. "You lost family as did I. And I guess...now all we have left is to remember them. I remember Elek each and every day, along with my parents...my friends...my sister…"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. He had gotten used to the fact that he pushed away most painful memories of home but perhaps with Renata around that would begin to change.


	7. Partners in Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata struggles traveling with the Doctor after Martha's departure. She tries to follow the Doctor through his crazy ways of helping people but she just can't help but point out how many rules they break! And the Doctor doesn’t make it any easier when he tries to argue with her.

"It's crazy-"

"Of course humans wouldn't be able to detect any-"

"-what you're saying-"

"-extraterrestrial signals but I have the-"

"-I mean what's the point of-"

"-TARDIS constantly checking for anything strange and there it was," the Doctor pushed the monitor so that it was in front of Renata. "Adipose Industries. Bunch of conspiracy theories-"

"Doctor, the humans are always looking for crazy theories-"

"Well it happens that _these_ are not so far off. We really should just pop in and check to make sure everything is alright."

There was a clear ' _why_ ' written across Renata's face. "What is your obsession with planet Earth?" That was one question she'd been asking ever since she met the Doctor on Gallifrey. Up to now, she suspected there wasn't a clear answer.

The Doctor just smiled at her question. "Renee, I really think we need to check it out. Just a couple of investigation scenes and-"

"Which will involve us breaking in and lying to officials - no, no way!" Renata turned away from the monitor, intending on going into the corridors so that she wouldn't have to listen to anymore of the nonsense.

"Oh we're not going to be doing anything bad!" the Doctor reached forwards and grabbed her arm.

"Really?" Renata pulled her arm and crossed them. "What does your little plan entail, exactly?"

"Just, you know, bit of the pyschic paper and-"

Renata stopped him with a hand in his face. "Psychic paper? You mean that little portable lying booklet?"

"That's...a strange name to give it but...sure," the Doctor nodded his head.

"And in that little paper we're going to lie and say we're some other people to get ourselves into the Adipose headquarters?"

"Um...yes," the Doctor had to contain himself under Renata's scolding face. To him, honestly, it was both funny and a bit scary how serious she got sometimes. He'd come to learn that it was often.

"Do you hear yourself?" Renata raised her hands in front of her, making it clear she wanted no part in this plan. "You're going to go in that building, interrupt business and for what? Conspiracy theories?"

"Renee, I'm going," the Doctor left it clear, turning for the console and preparing the controls to land on Earth. "Question is, will you be coming to make sure I don't get into trouble or will you be here."

Renata's eyebrows raised almost increduliously. "Am I to be your babysitter?"

"Well, no, but you seem so determined to give yourself that role…"

"Doctor!" Renata huffed.

"Well, you are!" the Time Lord turned around to defend himself before she decided to smack him on the back.

"We've been at this for a month-" Renata gestured between them, "-and you can't seriously understand that I am against the lying and breaking in?"

"You didn't have trouble in 1913," the Doctor mumbled under his breath.

Renata's eyes widened. "I was doing that to fit in! Not to break in all silly-nilly!" A small smile began spreading across the Doctor's face. "Why are you smiling?" Renata crossed her arms, expecting there to be some joke she hadn't caught like usual.

"You said silly-nilly, but somehow I'm the one that uses childish words."

Renata air-strangled him but brought her balled hands to her mouth. "Sometimes I just can't with you!"

"So you've said in this past month," the Doctor said all proudly which only irritated Renata even more.

One month she had been in the TARDIS with the Doctor after Martha left them, and somehow she hadn't strangled the Doctor into his next incarnation. Yes, the Doctor had done everything in his power to make sure she felt welcomed in the TARDIS - which she truly did. And yes, he was never purposely rude to her and he was always attentive to what she needed or where she wanted to go. But that didn't stop him from frustrating her with his childish antics and constant rule breaking and running.

Renata honestly wondered how he had made it this far without regenerating again.

Every day he had somewhere new he wanted to go and almost every time there was something he just needed to help and save which would then bring along danger and a lot of running. When they weren't travelling, the Doctor was 'fixing' the console and causing things to break. He was a fast talker when he was excited and thus had Renata's ears nearly fall off when they were together discussing things of home or some experiences they've had.

It truly felt like they were those young Time Lords again still messing around in her foundation.

Renata tried pushing those feelings away, every day, but being so close didn't help. Now there she was...bickering away with him...and remembering everything she'd fought for so long to forget.

"Renata, c'mon, it'll be fun," the Doctor smiled incredibly wide and held out a hand for her, wiggling his fingers.

She hated herself. She truly did. Renata took her hand, ignoring the Doctor's face momentarily go smug, and let him bring her back to the console.

~ 0 ~

A couple of hours later, the two embarked on a journey for Adipose Industries. As the two walked along a busy street, Renata continuously looked around like they were already going to get caught. The wind blew much of her blonde hair on her face, making it more difficult for her to keep a 'look out'.

"I see it," she said to the Doctor once she caught sight of the large building meant to serve as headquarters for the company. "But there's plenty of security check, I'm sure."

"Good thing we're going through the back," the Doctor pulled her to the left to go along the building towards its back.

Renata's head did a double-take in the process. "The _back_? What? Like actual thieves?"

The Doctor preferred not to get into a whole argument on the technicalities of what they were doing. Renata grew even more self-conscious as they arrived to a fire exit.

"What are you doing?" she nearly hissed when she saw him pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"Getting us in," he motioned as he flicked on the sonic.

"Oh my God, we're actually breaking in - ah," she put a hand over her chest and looked around, properly frightened.

The Doctor hid his amused smile in his work. It was actually rather adorable the way she got so worked up over things he did so normally. When the door opened, they crossed into a set of solitary corridors. All the noise came from their quick strides.

"Doctor," Renata had another near attack when she saw a security guard walking opposite of them. Her arm curled around his on instinct.

Without conflict, he just pulled out the psychic paper and flashed it at the security as they passed on by. "John Smith, Renata Cartwright, Health and Safety."

"How do you do that so calmly?" Renata whispered to him despite leaving the security guard well behind.

"Do what?" the Doctor repeated rather cluelessly.

"Great," Renta unwinded her arm from his and sighed, "You don't even realize you do it anymore."

After making it to the higher levels, they discovered that there was to be a private lecture from the very head of the company herself.

"You don't think they'd notice two unregistered people waltzing into the lecture room?" Renata had to ask as she followed behind the Doctor in a hallway.

"That's why we're not going there, clearly."

"What?" Renata stopped, dumbfounded. "Then where are we going?"

"Projector room, c'mon!"

Renata slowly continued to follow. "But...how are we getting in?"

~ 0 ~

"Health and Safety. Film department," the Doctor once more showed his psychic paper to a man working the computers in the projection room set right above the lecture room.

Renata shook her head behind the Doctor.

They were able to see the head, a blonde woman with glasses who went by 'Miss Foster', describe the components and process of her company's products to the small audience. "Adipose Industries. The 21st century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is. You just take one capsule, one capsule, once a day, for three weeks. And the fat, as they say…the fat just walks away."

Renata couldn't help scoff as she listened. "Do all the humans have an obsession with thinness?"

Beside her, the Doctor nudged her to be careful with her words. He motioned to the man working the computers who was giving Renata a curious look for her statement.

"U-uh," Renata flustered and looked at the window again. "I meant...the lot of humanity."

The Doctor gave a discreet shake of his head, fairly amused. Renata was one woman who did not know how to travel. That was novelty.

~ 0 ~

"Don't you think we're playing our luck here?" Renata walked right beside the Doctor through an aisle of small cubicles.

The Doctor had a bright idea to go to one of the employees and pick up a couple more information.

"Just relax, Renee," the Doctor wondered if he would ever get tired of telling that to her. Because everytime they traveleld somewhere, it was the same thing. She was overly nervous about getting caught.

They came into the cubicle of a young, dark-skinned woman who was in the middle of a call with a customer.

"John Smith, Renata Cartwright, Health and Safety. Don't mind us," the Doctor whispered so as not to interrupt her phone call. He let Renata take a seat first then took the one next to her.

Soon as she was done, the Doctor got straight to questioning. It truly amazed Renata how well he did it. There was no faltering, no stuttering, not a trace of nervousness in his face.

"If you could just give us a list of some of your customers we'll be on our way," the Doctor finished it off with a big nice smile.

The employee, Clare, seemed more than happy to oblige.

"That's the printer there?" the Doctor stood up for a moment, unknowingly giving Renata a hearts attack thinking he might get caught by Miss Foster. She'd only been in the room 15 minutes ago, what's stopping her from coming back?

"By the plant, yeah," Clare nodded.

"Brilliant," the Doctor beamed but Renata yanked him down to his seat again. Soon as her hand let go of his arm, he sprung right back on his feet. **"** Has it got paper?"

"Yeah, Jimbo keeps it stocked," Clare found him amusing.

Renata did not. She grasped the Doctor's arm and pulled him down with all her might. "Sit down!" she hissed. She then smiled at Clare. "Anyway, if you could print that off. We'll be on our way. Thanks."

The employee typed on her computer for a moment before giving them the 'ok' nod. Renata stood up followed by the Doctor but stopped when she heard the Doctor ask, "Oh, what's that?"

Renata turned around to see Clare giving him a piece of paper.

"My telephone number," the woman answered his question.

Renata raised her eyebrows.

The Doctor looked between the paper and Clare. "What for?"

There came a smirk across Clare's face. "Health and Safety. You be health, I'll be safety."

The Doctor stammered for an excuse. Renata...did not.

"I am going to report you!" she threatened the woman as she snatched the paper from the Doctor and slammed it on Clare's desk.

"What-"

"You can expect a call from your superiors tonight!" Renata grabbed the Doctor by the arm and yanked him out of the cubicle.

 _Honestly_ , she thought. Where was that human's professionalism!?

~0~

Night time fell and instead of going back to the TARDIS like Renata believed, the Doctor dragged her to continue investigating. This time they were set to pose as employees of Adipose Industries who made house visits. As the Doctor flashed his psychic paper to a lucky customer they were visiting, Renata rolled her eyes on the side and began to count the many times he'd done something like this and gotten away with it.

She couldn't count that high without losing her place.

Now sitting in the customer's, Roger's, living room, they listened to him how the pills had worked for him in so little time.

"I've been on the pills two weeks now, I've lost fourteen kilos!" he finished excitedly.

"That's the same amount every day?" asked the Doctor.

"One kilo exactly. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

Renata's brows knitted together. "I-I'm sorry...how...how is that?"

"That's when I get woken up," Roger answered in a matter of fact tone. "Might as well weigh myself at the same time."

"U-um…" Renata glanced at the Doctor to see if he was as confused as she was.

He was. "Could you...could you tell us more about that please?"

"Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot without fail, the burglar alarm goes off. I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?" Renata asked to be sure.

"Nothing. I've given up looking."

The Doctor still did not falter. "Tell me Roger, have you got a cat flap?"

Renata made a face at that but nonetheless she followed the plan. Roger showed them to the cat flap on his front door, more than happy to show another person in case this one actually figured it out. "It was there when I bought the house. Never bothered with it. I'm not a cat person."

The Doctor had already begun screening it with his sonic. "No, I've met cat people. You are nothing like them," he murmured.

 _He's met cat people_. Renata inwardly sighed. _Of course he's met cat people._

"It's that what it is then? Cats getting inside the house?" Roger frowned.

"Well, thing about cat flaps is that they don't just let things in, they let things out as well…" the Doctor said slowly, still coming up with ideas to follow.

"Like what?"

"The fat just _walks_ away..." The Doctor pushed himself back on his feet and turned to Roger with an excessive smile. "Well, thanks for your help. Tell you what, maybe you could lay off the pills for a week or so."

"Probably forever," Renata added. "You could just try the regular eat healthy and exercise thing..."

The Doctor stiffened when he heard a small 'bleep' from inside his jacket. "Ooh, we gotta go, sorry."

"What-"

The Doctor hurriedly opened the door brought Renata along with him. He reached inside his jacket to pull out a device he'd hand made earlier that day.

"When did you make that!?" Renata gave a face at the device, fearing it would explode like the last thing he made.

"This morning! Now hurry!" He let go of her completely and picked up his pace. Renata was also not good at running.

Groaning, Renata did her best to keep up.

She managed to catch up when he made a stop by the corner of one street. He banged a hand on his device, ignoring Renata's sarcastic 'that'll make it work' then ran off again.

"What are we looking for!?" Renata panted when they stopped again.

Not answering, the Doctor held up the device for a better signal. He waved it around then lowered it to check the readings. When it dinged, he beamed and ran again.

"Oh my God," Renata groaned and chased after him. They were nearly ran over by a rushing van in the process. However, soon as it passed by, the Doctor turned in the same direction to follow it...apparently, the signal was coming from it.

He finally came to a stop at an intersection and was disappointed to find the signal gone.

~ 0 ~

Much later would find the Doctor examining one of the golden capsules of the Adipose company. He was looking at it through a magnifying glass, far interested in its components. "Ohh, fascinating!" he gawked. "Seems to be a bio-flip digital stitch, specifically for…"

"Are we still on that?" Renata's voice stopped him in the middle of his discovery. He glanced back to find her leaning against the corridor's threshold.

"Well, uh, I was…" the Doctor motioned the magnifying glass still in his hand then lowered it.

"Still investigating," Renata finished for him, giving a small shake of her head. "Honestly Doctor, don't you ever get tired of fixing everyone's problems?"

Because she had asked in a simple, curious manner, the Doctor entertained it. "What do you mean?"

Renata shrugged her shoulders as she came off the threshold. "I mean just what I said. You always go and find a problem - like Sto's government and a broken water pipe - that you have to fix. Last week it was some planet's default engineering settings and today it's…" she had come up to him in the while of her explanation and took the Doctor's magnifying glass from, "...Adipose," she looked at him through the magnifying glass, her brown eyes enlarging from the glass.

"Are you asking me why I help people?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, finding the question too far even for _her_ uptightness. Because yes, it only took a month to realize that Renata was uptight.

Knowing how that sounded, Renata ventured to clarify herself. "I don't mean that you shouldn't help people I just…" she thought about it for a second, "...isn't there the Shadow Proclamation to help with cases like these? They _are_ the police and it should be up to them how things get fixed. I don't see why _you_ have to keep doing it."

"The Shadow Proclamation is never that good," the Doctor gave a roll of his eyes, clear dislike for the place. "And I like helping. I can do it, don't see why I shouldn't."

"Yeah, I can see that you like to," Renata chuckled.

"And I can see that you not so much." And the Doctor truly appreciated how Renata was doing her best to keep up with him in his shenanigans.

"I do! You have no idea how much I love to help people, but...when I did it...it was with... _our_ people."

"You don't like to help the humans, then?"

"I do, if I have the chance then...sure," Renata nodded, but it was easy to tell that she wasn't all that into the idea. "But in the end...they're just humans to me. For so long they were only a means to hide myself from the rest of our kind. I miss helping my kind, you know? People I can share my ideas with, my perspectives, my everything. People that would understand me."

The Doctor tilted his head, a faint smile writing itself across his lips. "Renee, what did you used to do back on Gallifrey?"

The question set Renata into nervous state. "U-uh...l-like my...my job?"

"Yeah," the Doctor didn't catch any of her nervousness, too curious imagining her in different positions. "Cos you're all uptight and-"

" _Hey_ ," Renata pointed at him but he went on.

"-strict on rules so...I would think of you as one of the teachers at the academy."

Renata blinked, for a moment in disbelief. "You think I was a teacher?"

"Well," he straightened up. "Were you?"

"No," Renata shook her head. "I wasn't."

"Then, what were you?"

Renata stared at him for a minute, the ongoing battle within her taking a bit more than she thought. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about telling the Doctor more about herself - in fact, she already had. Bits and pieces had been exchanged between the two about their past lives on Gallifrey but Renata was always careful not to disclose too much about herself that would risk her identity with the Doctor.

"I...was…" her eyes flickered to the side, "...I worked at a foundation."

Technically, she wasn't lying.

Those were the rules she set herself for. Loopholes.

"You did?" the Doctor became even more curious.

"Mhm. I worked with all sorts of people in need. Children who weren't quite ready for the academy came for some lessons. People who just needed help, whether emotional or physically but didn't have the resources were always welcomed to stop by," Renata looked into the distant, remembering more and more about her foundation. She missed it _so_ much. She missed her workers, her kids, her friends…

"Renata?" the Doctor gently shook her arm to get her out of her thoughts.

She realized she'd let herself think far too much and released an awkward breath, smiling in a flushed manner. "Sorry," she waved a hand at her face.

"No, it's okay," the Doctor softly said, reaching for her waving hand. He liked seeing her remember their home due to the fact she hadn't disclosed much about herself on Gallifrey. He had made it his mission not to get overexcited and push Renata to tell her stories when she wasn't ready. To say, she hadn't even said whose family she was from. But still, the Doctor was forcing himself to be patient.

"Do you want some dinner?" Renata was the one to pull him out of his thoughts this time. With a warm smile on her face, she took his hand. "It's all set up like usual."

The Doctor smiled, forgetting his investigation from then on till the next morning. Renata made it a custom that they were to have dinner every night like normal people. She made pretty damn good meals.

"C'mon," Renata said quietly, still smiling as the two headed for the corridors.

~ 0 ~

The next day, Renata was not the least bit surprised to have the Doctor practically pounding on her bedroom door shouting for her to wake up because they had to go back to Adipose Industries. Swooshing herself out of bed, she got ready and came out of her room...and then smacked the Doctor on the chest and stalked for the console.

"I hate mornings!" was the only explanation the Doctor got for being hit.

They left the TARDIS in an alleyway close to the Adipose Industries building and once more used the fire exit to gain entrance. The Doctor led the way down the same empty corridor but this time stopped midway and turned to a storage closet.

"What...are you doing?" Renata blinked as he opened the door to the small room.

"We need to hide, c'mon," the Doctor didn't wait around for her to warm to the idea and pushed her inside first. As he sonicked the door shut, Renata raved with her back to him.

"Are you mad!? This is wrong!" her hands waved above her head. "First of all, we're bound to get caught! Second of all, it's just _wrong_!"

The manner in which Renata had said her last statement made the Doctor turn around questionably. "Why? What's wrong?"

In her moment, Renata whirled around to face him and bumped into him because he was literally standing right in front of her. Her eyes blinked rapidly trying not to overthink it. Meanwhile, the Doctor was still demanding to know why she was so freaked out.

"Renata? Why did you say it like that?" his eyebrows knitted together in the manner they always did when he was confused.

Renata slowly looked up to meet his gaze and soon wished she hadn't. She found that she was vulnerable to his long look no matter how she felt at the moment. It threatened to give her identity up.

"Renata?" the Doctor finally broke through her thoughts which, admittedly, were making her face warm. "Well?"

"...it's just inappropriate…" Renata quietly said, turning away and walking the most she could inside the small room which turned out to be seven small steps.

The Doctor scoffed, giving a sway of his head. "Really? But it's not to live inside a TARDIS with me?" the moment turned sideways with alarmed eyes the Doctor regretted his response. "N-n-n-n-n-no! Forget I said that!" and he rushed up, but because of the small room he nearly rammed into her.

"Doctor! Just stop!" cried the blonde, swatting him away with her hands.

With a big sigh, the Doctor listened and retreated to the door. He took a seat on the floor, back up against the door. He watched Renata look for a spot of her own until she settled for a small box positioned over another.

"Renee…?"

"Hmm?" Renata wearily glanced over to the Doctor, hoping that whatever came out of his mouth would not send them into another round of bickering.

"On Gallifrey...were you part of...high society? Before you married off, of course."

"Why would you think that?"

The Doctor made a gesture at her. "Just...just the way you act...the way you _think_. It has all the...makings of a high class Time Lady."

Renata looked down, her fingers fiddling with each other. "And you hate that," she recalled from oh-so-long ago.

The Doctor wasn't about to lie and say he was best friends with that part of their people. "I mean, they weren't particularly the best people for me to spend time with."

"So then why do you tolerate me and my...uptightness?" came Renata's honest question. She knew she was not the ideal companion and she doubted she ever would be.

A warm smile spread across the Doctor's face. "Because I like you of course - you and everything I know about you so far. You're not like the others of your class and I'm happy. Otherwise it would have been a real shame for such a pretty woman with big hearts to go to waste."

Renata's face softened. "Doctor…"

"You working at a foundation just proves it," the Doctor shrugged. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask.. " he cleared his throat, suddenly nervous, "The foundation...did it...did it happen to be…the Auxilium Foundation?" It was like Renata's whole world just stopped. The Doctor was too delved into his own memories to notice it. "There was only a couple foundations and...and you seem the sort to want to help Gallifreyans despite what Time Lord society thought. Was it?"

Renata couldn't bring herself to lie more, at least not in that moment. It was too many memories, too many fond memories she couldn't get rid of. "Yeah…" she passed a hand down her hair, secretly shooting him a glance. "How do you know about it?"

The Doctor released a breath, a dreamy one actually that sped up Renata's hearts in the second."Oh, I, um...I knew someone there…"

* * *

_"You need to see it, Zuriah. I bet the pictures don't do Earth justice!"_

_Zuriah laughed softly while the Doctor rambled onto her about what he'd learned of Earth that morning. She shook her head at him and moved on around the empty tables, soon to be filled up with their daily visitors, to set up some of the materials. "Now I know why you probably failed some of your coursework in the Academy. Did you **ever** stop talking in those classes?"_

_The Doctor sent an unamused glare her way. "I'll have you know I have my moments of silence."_

_The scoff Zuriah gave in return was one of clear disbelief. "Just help me out here, please?" she motioned with her hands to the mess of toys on the ground. "Some new recruiters' kids found my stash of toys and didn't exactly learn the rule of 'put it away'."_

_The Doctor rolled his eyes but got up to help. "So, do you think you could somehow incorporate this planet in your activities?"_

_Zuriah waved him off. "I don't know. We haven't done the schedule for next week. Perhaps..."_

_"Oh c'mon! You know you'd love to!" the Doctor hurriedly threw some toys into the bin she'd set up. He followed her around the tables, rambling on about the benefits her people would get if she incorporated Earth into activities._

_"Look, Doctor, maybe we could - AH!" she had stepped on a toy and slipped backwards. Her basket went flying in the air along with the materials. She herself would've fallen to the floor if the Doctor hadn't caught her._

_"Hm, didn't take you for the klutz," the Doctor smirked at her. Zuriah looked up, her face flushed when she realized their closeness. The Doctor felt it too, but he didn't think about telling her of it. Although he did take notice of how many freckles were over Zuriah's face...they were lovely..._

* * *

Renata was utterly stunned to see such a soft look on the Doctor's face. He was clearly remembering something...

"Zuriah, that was the, uh..." the Doctor shook his head out of the memory but no matter how much he tried, the freckled-face ginger still smiled at him. It'd been so long since he thought about her...

~0~

After a full day passed, the Doctor finally declared it was time to leave and investigate. Since they had fallen into bits and pieces of conversation after the foundation topic, Renata was itching to get out of there. She was afraid that the Doctor would begin to ask questions about 'Zuriah' which was _her_ before she picked her graduating name.

 _You can't hide it forever, Renata._ The same sentence passed her mind over and over but somehow she still couldn't act.

"Where exactly are we headed now?" Renata inquired once they were striding down the dark corridors.

"Up to the office of course," the Doctor flashed a smile that warned it wasn't technically literal.

Renata would have questioned further had it not been for him pulling her into a hasty walk. They found the staircase and went up...and up...and up…

 _Of course he meant the **roof**._ Renata actually blamed herself for not seeing this earlier.

The Doctor went straight for the edge and sonicked the cables holding…

"What are you doing?" Renata slowly approached the edge, eyes glued onto the Doctor who was in the process climbing into a window cleaner's cradle.

"Getting a look at the office, what else?" the Doctor shrugged then motioned with a hand for her to join him. Instantly, Renata incredulously blinked. "Don't give me that look! C'mon!"

Nervously, Renata inched closer to the edge and took one look down to the high view. "Um...is this a bad time to tell you...I have a fear of heights…"

"Not surprised," the Doctor said. He then reached over and grabbed her arm, pulling her slowly. "But for another time!"

"Doctor…" Renata struggled to let the Doctor bring her into the window's cradle.

"In you go," the Doctor slipped his other arm around her waist to get her into the cradle.

As soon as Renata felt the cradle wiggling a bit she gasped and latched onto the Doctor for dear life. "We're going to die! We're going to die! We're going to die!" she cried with eyes shut.

There was a fierce determination in the Doctor _not_ to laugh. But he was still thankful that she couldn't see his face right now.

"This is it! This is where you finally kill me!" and because the Doctor didn't know who Renata was, he thought she was just talking about their short time together...when in reality Renata was remembering all the adventures their younger selves took because of him.

"Calm down, it's not moving," the Doctor peeled her off him and aimed the sonic at the controls. Renata gasped again when the cradle descended. "And duck!" he ordered when they were nearing Miss Foster's office.

"You're gonna get us caught," Renata whispered.

The Doctor ignored her and poked his head just slightly above the cradle to peer into the office. He saw a young dark-skinned woman being tied to a chair by body guards while Miss Foster watched. Unknowingly, an old friend was also watching from the other side of the office, right in front of its door.

"What's going on?" Renata curiously asked, still not taking the risk by peering herself.

"Can't hear much," the Doctor mumbled. He could see Miss Foster showing her prisoner a capsule.

"Well, it _is_ a window-"

"Donna!?"

Renata made a face and looked up to find the Doctor, stunned, staring ahead. "What? What is it?"

'Donna?' she watched the Doctor mouth.

What she didn't know was that across the office stood the Doctor's old friend, Donna Noble who was also stunned to see him there.

"DOCTOR!' she excitedly mimed back, her face right in front of the door's porthole.

'But... what? Wha... What?!'

Renata tried following along but the Doctor was just opening and closing his mouth to her.

'OH MY GOD!' Donna continued miming happily.

'But... how?'

'It's me!' Donna pointed her thumbs at herself, as if the Doctor hadn't yet made the connection it was in fact her.

'Well, I can see that!' the Doctor gestured his eyes then pointed at Donna. Beside him, Renata was still hopelessly lost. She was not risking herself to see who it was.

'Oh this is brilliant!' Donna would have laughed if she could.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was perturbed. 'But what are you doing there?'

'I was looking for you!' Donna pointed at him.

'What for?!'

Now Donna, being Donna, did her best to mimic what she was saying which went along the lines of…

'I, came here, trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble = you! And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. You! Cos they…' But when she happened to jerk a thumb to her right she found that Miss Foster, along with the tied-up woman and her body guards, were staring at her.

The Doctor too had caught it.

"Are we interrupting you?" MIss Foster loudly, sarcastically called to Donna.

'Run!' the Doctor urgently mimed for Donna then aimed the sonic ahead to lock the door of the office and give Donna time to run. Without notice, he waved the sonic above and pulled the cradle above.

"DOCTOR!" Renata nearly cried when the cradle shot up.

"Sorry! Sorry!" the Doctor hopped out of the cradle fast and turned to help her out.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on!? Besides probably getting caught - like I told you!"

"Old friend of mine-" the Doctor grunted as he pulled her out, "-in a bit of trouble! Hurry!"

They ran back for the door that laid the staircase. Despite Renata asking questions of who this 'friend' was the Doctor didn't answer many as he was focused on helping Donna out before she was hurt. They came down another set of staircase where they bumped into a redhead. Donna had encased the Doctor in a big hug, ecstatic with finding him. Renata's eyes just flickered from one to the next.

"Oh my God! I don't believe it!" Donna laughed but suddenly stopped to give the Doctor a look over. "You've even got the same suit! Don't you ever change?"  
The Doctor sarcastically rolled his eyes. "Yeah thanks Donna, not right now."

"Well…" Donna finally noticed that the Doctor was not alone. "Hey-" but that was all she could say to Renata before the Doctor saw the guards and pulled them both up the stairs.

"Doctor! There are _guards_!" Renata had looked below to see several guards coming after them.

"Yes, I've noticed!"

Donna was too cheery to be affected by the guards coming for them. As they made it back to the roof she explained the events that led her to the building. "Cos I thought, how do I find the Doctor? And then I just thought, look for trouble and then he'll turn up! So I looked everywhere, you name it - UFOs, sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all…"

During this, the Doctor had started working on the cradle controls with his sonic. Renata had half a mind to scold him for even thinking about using the damn thing! But she was quick to discover Donna had a rambling mouth much like the Doctor.

"...like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet he's connected. Cos the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's gotta be a hoax!"

"What d'you mean the bees are disappearing?" the Doctor picked the sentence up by random.

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet!"

"Doctor!" Renata helplessly watched the Doctor get back into the cradle, and was even more astonished to see Donna so easily getting in as well. "Aren't you even going to question why you're getting in?" she demanded from the ginger.

"I figure it was to escape?" Donna glanced at the Doctor but quickly looked back to Renata. "I'm sorry, what's your n-"

"Renata, get in!" the Doctor urgently said.

"What for!?" Renata argued. "They'll just bring us up again! I'm not here to go up and down like a stupid amusement park ride!"

"No no no, cos I've locked the controls with a sonic cage. I'm the only one who can control it," he promised. "Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is very unlikely."

The door burst open again and out came Miss Foster.

"RENATA!"

Flinching, Renata clambered into the window cradle. Soon as she was in, the Doctor made it go down.

"How are we getting out!?" the blonde held onto the railing as they went down and down, but suddenly they started going dangerously FAST faster.

The Doctor managed to stop it with the sonic but the force knocked all three down for a moment. Being the first one to get up, he aimed the sonic at the window. Up above, Miss Foster ordered to the building to be deadlocked.

The Doctor retracted the sonic. "Can't get it open!"

"Well, smash it then!" Donna had grabbed a large spanner from the floor and used all her might to shatter the window.

Renata helplessly looked from Donna to the Doctor, wondering how much worse it could get. Her answer came in the form of sparks and smoke from the cradle. "She's cutting the cable!" she shrieked after looking up and seeing Miss Foster aiming some sort of laser pen at the cables. At her words the Doctor and Donna instinctively grabbed on but Renata hadn't had the time and so when the cable broke and the cradle lurched to the side, she was flung back screaming.

"RENATA!" the Doctor wanted to go in after her but calmed after seeing her feet dangling under them.

She'd manage to get ahold of the broken cable and was currently, and dangerously, swaying back and forth. "DOCTOR!"

"Hold on!" the Doctor tried reaching for the cable sustaining her to pull her back up but he just couldn't.

"Doctor!" went Donna this time who was staring up, seeing Miss Foster about to break the last cable.

Angrily, the Doctor aimed the sonic above just at the right moment to make it spark and fall out of the woman's hand. He caught the second sonic and climbed up the cable to another window. He managed to get it open and ordered Donna to follow him.

"I'm not gonna fall am I!?" Donna asked for the blonde below who was crying out in terror.

"Get in! Get in!" the Doctor didn't want to waste time answering obvious questions. His hearts was racing unbelievably fast as he thought of Renata so close to danger (and because of him).

Meanwhile, Renata was crying out to be helped. Her eyes were stinging with tears and from the hard wind hitting her from every direction. She was sure her hands were slipping from the cable and that at any moment she would fall and splat on the ground like the television showed.

 _Oh God I was wrong - **this** is how he finally kills me!_ And yet Renata felt not an ounce of anger with the Doctor. It was just so like him to get near danger, like a taunt, and then get away from it like nothing. It was actually one of the things that attracted her after getting to know his ways. Her hearts pounded like never before yet it was not a new sensation for her.

"AH!" she screamed all over again when she felt hands on her ankles. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"Renata, it's _me_!" the Doctor managed to cut through her screams. "I've got you! Stop kicking!" He slowly pulled her down and into the office he and Donna coordinated would be the room of the next window down. "There we go! I've got you!"

"Oh my God! I thought I was going to die!" Renata clung to him with teary eyes. "Oh you stupid, stupid man!"

The Doctor soothed her with a hand on her back and regretted he couldn't do more at that moment on account of still being on the run from Miss Foster. "We have to go, I'm sorry," he pulled away and felt a pang of guilt seeing her tear-stained face.

He took her and Donna out of the room but not before untying the journalist in the office and telling her to go home. They only made it to the call center because Miss Foster and her guards were already waiting for them.

"Well then," Miss Foster pulled off her glasses and raised her head at the trio, "at last."

"Hello," Donna nervously laughed, the thrill of the chase still clouding bits of her.

The Doctor was just the Doctor who said 'hello' to everyone. "Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor."

"And I'm Donna!"

Renata crossed her arms, deciding the Foster didn't need her name.

"Partners in crime," Foster concluded, eyeing Renata who seemed to falter every now and then from her brave stance. "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh yes, I've still got your sonic pen. Nice, I like it," the Doctor raised the sonic pen to give another look. "Sleek, it's kinda sleek." He let Renata and Donna give it a glance as well, but Renata lowered it down.

"I don't think it should matter the form of the thing that nearly killed me."

The Doctor winced and retracted the pen from Renata. "Now-" he looked at Foster, " if you were to sign your real name that would be...?"

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class."

"A wet nurse?" Renata gawked for a second. "What...and you're using humans as surrogates?"

Foster gave a curt nod. "I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

"But who gave you the right to use humans as cows for your reproduction methods!? It's against Shadow Proclamation rules!"

Beside Renata, the Doctor silently laughed that she would ignore a planet being lost because of 'rules'. "How do you mean lose a planet?"

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents," Foster made a gesture, shrugging her shoulders.

"What, like an outer space super-nanny?" Donna crinkled her nose.

"Yes, if you like."

"So... so those little things they're, they're made out of fat yeah, but that woman, Stacy Campbell, there was nothing left of her." Donna still couldn't shake off that horrible feeling of seeing a nice woman like Stacey disappear into little white blobs of... _fat_?

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

"What about poor _Stacey_!?" Donna incredulously returned.

"Enough," Renata's sharp edged voice cut through the womens' conversation, and the hand she had for Donna was, frankly, irritating the ginger. "Seeding a level 5 planet is against galactic law - you should know that!" she said to Foster who merely raised her eyebrows.

"Are you threatening me?"

The Doctor then put an arm in front of Renata. "We're trying to help you, Matron. This is your one chance; cos if you don't call this off, then we'll have to stop you."

Foster smirked. "I hardly think you can stop bullets." And just as she said it, her guards flanking her took aim.

Alarmed, Renata stepped back.

"No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before... dying…" the Doctor settled for the blunt word. "Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?" he once again gestured to his sonic and Foster's sonic pen.

"...no?" Foster doubtfully answered.

"Nor me, lets find out!" the Doctor happily pointed both sonic objects at each other, activating them at the same time. A high-screeching rang in the room, causing everyone to squirm uncomfortably and a glass pane behind to shatter.

"Come on!" Donna was the one to pull both aliens out of there.

In the process, the Doctor took the lead and ran them down an empty corridor, stopping by a door of a cupboard.

"No more cupboards!" Renata nearly pleaded. Small spaces meant more talking and more talking meant more chances to risk her identity.

"Not quite," the Doctor opened the door and started throwing out the storage's supplies.

"You can't just throw those things out!" Renata said, scandalized as he created a wad of mess on the floor. "Those are some employee's utensils!"

"Another time, Renata!" the Doctor rolled his eyes, this time a smidge of honest annoyance for her lack of priorities.

"Renata?" Donna repeated the name, looking a bit confused as she studied Renata head to toe. "So you're not Rose, then?"

Recalling the name, Renata scowled. "No I am not! Why would you think that?"

"Dunno…" Donna shrugged, "...blonde...and stuff."

"I'm not her," Renata's eyes briefly glanced at the Doctor and saw him working. There was glowing green machinery built into the wall.

"Well, I'm Donna Noble by the way," the ginger held a hand to Renata, realizing that they hadn't been introduced properly.

"Renata," Renata shook Donna's hand. She looked over at the green panel and frowned. "Okay, what's this for?"

"It's the inducer. For the Adipose. It's wired up the whole building...I...I'll need some time," the Doctor paused, running a hand through his big hair.

"Then get to it," Renata made a motion. "I'm not sure if I can distract but...but I can certainly try." The Doctor made a face at the prospect of that idea. "I can to you know," the blonde insisted now more than ever.

"Okay."

Renata bubbled with instant anger. "Listen to me you idiot," she began sharply, "I nearly _fell_ off a window's cradle because of you!"

"Which I will make up for later, I promise!"

"That's not the point!" Renata's voice cracked and she took it a sign to calm down. With a sigh, she put a hand on her forehead and took a moment for herself. "Sorry," she said a minute later, truthfully.

"I get it, I do," the Doctor didn't stop his work but gave her an honest face. "You're making an effort and I _do_ see it and appreciate it." Renata lowered her hand from her face and smiled.

Donna silently studied the two aliens in front of her, a bit curious of what they were and just who was Renata overall. Renata crossed gazes with her and realized she had yet to ask something important.

"How do you two know each other?" her finger pointed from Donna to the Doctor.

"I met him on my wedding day - the big starship in the sky at Christmas?" Donna waited for Renata to remember. "That was us."

Renata blinked as something donned. "It was _you_ who drained the Thames!" she turned on the Doctor with an accusing finger. The Master had never clarified the happenings of that evening, but then again she wasn't exactly in the mood to be talking to the Master during that period.

"It was such a crazy day," Donna continued. "In the beginning, I thought he kidnapped me actually," Donna had a small laugh.

"You too!?" Renata incredulously asked of the Doctor. "What, did you throw her over your shoulders too?"

"No, I didn't!" the Doctor defensively said.

Renata huffed. "Well, that's unfair."

"What do you mean?" Donna fit in the pieces together quick. "Did he do that to you?" Renata nodded and gestured being thrown over a shoulder. "Doctor," a great smirk took over Donna's face as her eyes landed on the Doctor, "I didn't know you were _that_ sort of man."

The Doctor looked mortified at her assumption. Renata face palmed. "I meant a _thief_!" she exclaimed.

"I was _not_ a thief!" the Doctor stopped for a minute to argue. "You-" he pointed a finger at her, "-were being stubborn!"

Renata's eyes blinked rapidly and her mouth parted slightly. "M-me? You're saying it was _my_ fault? What part of 'you threw me over your shoulder and brought me into the TARDIS' did you forget about?" The Doctor said no more but his scrunched face said the words alright.

Donna burst into laughter, making the argument stop. "I'm sorry, but...what?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing honestly. The Doctor had actually slung the poor woman over his shoulder and forced her into the TARDIS? No, hold on, the woman _had_ to be forced in the first place? Who wouldn't want to travel the stars!?

Grumbling, the Doctor returned to work.

"It's really not that funny," Renata crossed her arms and muttered. "Least Martha didn't laugh."

"Martha?" Donna repeated. "Was that a friend at the time?"

"Yeah. My only human friend who I still keep in contact with," Renata thoughtfully said, since Joan was dead and she had left the family in 1959.

"Is she here? In the TARDIS?"

"No," the Doctor said then. "She was brilliant... but... I destroyed half her life."

Renata's annoyance was gone the moment she saw his guilt-ridden face. "You did not," she softly said then looked at the surprised Donna. "Martha decided it was time for her to go back home. But she's fine. She's good."

"Oh," Donna nodded then thought for another moment. "What about Rose?"

"Still lost," the Doctor mumbled, missing Renata purposely looking away. He had yet to tell her anything of Rose and he frankly didn't know when. He actually thought that perhaps Renata would be scandalized to know he had developed an attachment to a human. He was, for a lack of a better word, scared of her reaction.

Renata, on the other hand, thought his lack of explanation arose from the fact she wasn't trusted enough, and that perhaps he didn't see her as a friend at all. By this point, she knew who Rose was. The Master had taken joy rubbing it in her face that the Doctor had exchanged her for a human.

"I thought you were going to travel the world?" the Doctor suddenly remembered it was Donna's grand plan after her failed marriage.

The cheery face on Donna was quick to fade away. "Easier said then done. It's like I had that one day with you and I was gonna change. I was gonna do so much. Then I woke up next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try, I went to Egypt. I was gonna go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been mad turning down that offer."

"What offer?" the Doctor failed to recall.

"To come with you." But now Donna was a bit nervous that since Renata seemed to be on board maybe the Doctor was good on companions.

"You didn't want to go into the TARDIS at first?" Renata was a smidge more impressed with the woman. Usually, every human jumped at the chance to get into the TARDIS.

"I didn't understand," Donna tried to explain herself. "I was...I was all emotional...and-and...just…"

Renata swayed her head till she met the Doctor. "I mean...I wouldn't mind, honestly."

The Doctor was surprised to hear such easy acceptance from her. "Really?"

"Yeah, maybe we would bicker less," Renata recalled that was her excuse for when Astrid Peth had asked to come with them. It was true, as much as she loved the Doctor - and boy did she - there were moments where she just needed a break...or at least someone to stop her from strangling him. She was sure that the feeling was mutual.

"Oh yes!" Donna cheered.

_'Inducer activated.'_

Renata peered into the cupboard to see the green machinery. "What's it doing now?"

"She's started the program," the Doctor groaned.

_'Inducer transmitting.'_

"And...what does that mean?" Renata now stared wide-eyed at the machinery.

"Up to now the customers have only been losing weight but the Matron has gone up to emergency pathogenesis."

"Oh no." Renata glanced at the end of the corridor where they could see doors. She was sure that outside swarms of little Adipose were going to be gathering real soon pathogenesis.

"That's when they convert…" Donna, too, remembered.

"But that's skeletons, organs, everything!" Renata exclaimed. "A million people are gonna die!"

"Gotta cancel the signal!" the Doctor took out the golden capsule they'd gotten the previous day and pulled one of its end to reveal a chip inside. "This contains the primary signal. If I can switch it off the fat goes back to being just fat." He hooked up the capsule to the machine hoping to God he was right.

_'Inducer increasing.'_

The Doctor panicked. "No no no no no, she's doubled it, I need... Haven't got time! It's too far, I can't override it! They're all gonna die!"

"Can we do anything?" Renata asked, Donna nodding her head in agreement.

"Sorry, this is way beyond you - and I mean no disrespect but I have to double the base pulse, I can't…"

"Doctor, tell us what do you need," Donna sternly cut him off. Rambling was no good to anyone.

"I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got the one. I can't save them!"

Donna blinked, remembering something very important. She reached inside her pocket to take out a second gold capsule. Renata laughed when the Doctor froze in shock.

"Here!" Donna waved it in front of his face till he snapped out of his stupor. He nabbed it and hooked it into the green machinery, making all its lights shut down.

A couple seconds, a loud horn filled the place.

"What the hell was that?" Donna frantically looked around.

"I suppose it would be...the nursery ship," Renata said.

"But when you say nursery you don't mean a creche in Notting Hill?"

"Nursery ship," Renata repeated.

'Incoming signal.' the machinery had come back to life for a minute and began with a voice that spoke a different language.

"Hadn't we better go and stop them?" Donna made a gesture for them to leave.

"Hang on, instructions from the Adiposian First Family," the Doctor put a finger on his lips to listen in. "She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post!"

"But now _she's_ the one in trouble," Renata said soon after she heard.

The Doctor didn't waste a chance and hurried back for the roof. Renata and Donna ran after him. When they got up all they saw were blue beams levitating thousands of Adipose babies into the large nursery ship in the sky.

Most of them were smiling and waving at the trio.

"What you gonna do then? Blow them up?" Donna curiously asked the Doctor beside her.

"They're just children," the Doctor made a face for a brief moment. "They can't help where they come from." Besides, something told him that if anyone threatened those children they would come across a raging Time Lady. God help those fools.

"Doctor, there she is!" Renata called as soon as she spotted Foster coming up in one of the blue beams.

The Doctor ran up to the edge with Donna. "Matron Cofelia, listen to me!"

Foster stopped right at their lever. "Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it will be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one ever listen? I'm trying to help! Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?" Foster's eyes briefly flickered to Renata.

"No, you're going to want to listen," Renata promised. "Because the families you worked for know that it was a crime to breed on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice!"

"I'm far more than that. I'm nanny to all these children."

"Exactly!" the Doctor frantically waved a hand. "Mum and Dad have got the kids now, they don't need the nanny anymore!"

And just then, the blue beam sustaining Foster disappeared and she fell all the way down screaming. Donna hid her face in the Doctor's shoulder and Renata covered her mouth.

Sometime later, when the police arrived to the site, the Doctor and Renata, along with Donna, exited the building. The Doctor chucked the sonic pen into the nearest trash bin.

"Oi, you three!" the journalist the Doctor had thought followed his instructions to go home was coming up to them...tied to a chair again.

"Didn't you let her go?" Renata whispered to the Doctor, blinking rapidly.

"I did," the Doctor defensively replied.

"You're just mad. Do you hear me?" the journalist cried. "Mad! And I'm gonna report you... for madness!"

Donna silently watched the woman leave, barely able to hold her laugh back as she said, "You see, some people just can't take it."

"No," agreed the Doctor.

"But some people can. So, then - TARDIS!" she excitedly said and grabbed the two aliens by the arms, pulling them away.

They headed back to the alleyway where the TARDIS had been left...and apparently Donna's car as well.

"That's my car! That is like destiny!" Donna laughed. "And I've been ready for this." She rushed up to the car's trunk and opened it to reveal a series of suitcases. I packed ages ago, just in case. Cos I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather…" she pulled out the top luggage and loaded them into the arms of the Doctor, who was too stunned to say a word at the moment. "...he goes anywhere, I've gotta be prepared." She then loaded more into Renata's arms.

"You've got a... a... hatbox?!" the Doctor found his words after Donna loaded him with one last box.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!" Donna declared and shut the trunk of her car, excitedly heading for the TARDIS. "Do I need injections though, do I? Like when you go to Cambodia, is there any of that? Cos my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and-"

Renata suddenly began to laugh hard, making Donna stop just outside the TARDIS doors. Even the Doctor was oddly staring down at the Time Lady. Donna eyebrows furrowed together, thinking Renata was laughing at her.

"Oi! What's so funny!?"

"This!" Renata motioned with her arms to the luggage and then the situation in general. "You're so funny! I love you! **"**

The Doctor gaped. "Wow…" he had never seen such a reaction from Renata, so lively and happy…

Renata walked up to the TARDIS, sobering slowly from her laugh. "I like you, I do. Doctor, can we take her?"

"I'm not a dog," Donna made a face. But it did feel better to know Renata wouldn't mind if she came along with them.

"It's really fine with me," the Doctor admitted, staying right where he was. "It's just...it's a funny old life, in the TARDIS."

Donna knew that sort of tone well. It came when one was fired or the casualness from her mother. "You don't want me."

"I'm not saying that-"

"But you asked me," Donna frowned, glancing at Renata for some help.

"Doctor, it really is okay with me," Renata shrugged. "It's your TARDIS. You can bring whoever you want." She wished he would make up his mind faster because Donna's luggage was getting heavier by the second.

"I wouldn't mind either. In fact, I would love it," the Doctor clarified, letting the luggage in his arm drop to the floor. "It's just...the last time, with Martha, it... it got complicated. And that was all my fault. I would want nothing more than a mate-"

"You just want _**to** mate_?" Renata blinked, eyes impossibly wide. Beside her, Donna was losing it believing in what Renata heard.

"You're not mating with me, sunshine!" Donna shouted.

The Doctor had a hard time keeping up with both women who'd heard horribly wrong. "Renata! I didn't say that-"

But Renata was trying to control herself after her first outburst. "No, no, that's fine. What you want to do in your TARDIS is your business-"

"What - no!" the Doctor once more tried to cut in but then came Donna.

"He better find someone else cos I'm not into that sort of alien thing, no sir!"

"STOP!" the Doctor finally cut over both of them. "I said _a_ mate! Nothing more!" he frantically waved his hands.

"...oh," Renata looked away, embarrassed yet relieved.

The same applied to Donna. "Well just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean you're just a long streak of... nothing," she motioned to the Doctor who took it with an unamused face. "You know, alien nothing." She then passed a casual glance at Renata and shrugged. "You could probably find yourself someone quick. Kind of curvy."

Renata laughed.

"There we are, then. OK," the Doctor was glad to have things clarified and corrected.

"I can come?" Donna anxiously asked.

"Yeah. Course you can, yeah."

"I'd love it!"

"Great," Renata pushed the TARDIS door open to begin bringing Donna's things.

"Car keys!" Donna suddenly remembered, gasping.

"What?"

"I've still got my mum's car keys! I won't be a minute!" she held a finger to them and ran away.

Renata started to laugh again as she returned. She stopped at the doorway and smiled. "I think I'm gonna like her. She's so...spunky."

"Yeah, she is," the Doctor agreed and left his part of luggage inside.

"And you know," Renata stopped him just outside after he came out, "It really _is_ your TARDIS - even though you stole that too," she mumbled and the Doctor rolled his eyes, "So you can bring anyone in without having to consult me. And...do whatever you want inside."

"Yeah…" the Doctor sucked in a large breath, "...no thanks."

Renata couldn't help the stupid smile that quickly set on her face. She forced it away as best as possible. "I-I mean...it's it's your choice…"

"Renee," the Doctor tilted his head, close to laughing at the subject they were somehow talking about again.

"I'm only saying! I respect rules and...and in here-" Renata gestured to the inside of the TARDIS, "-they're whatever you want-"

"Renee! C'mon," the Doctor laughed. "None of that please. We should focus on the fact we're having a new guest in the TARDIS who I am sure is going to love your dinners."

Renata smiled. "You think so?"

"Oh yeah! Who wouldn't?" the Doctor reached for her hand and brought her inside the TARDIS.

A couple minutes later, Donna came rushing in, happy than ever. "Off we go, then!"

"Here it is, the TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside…"

"Oh, I know that bit," Donna interrupted the Doctor's favorite bit. "Although frankly, you could turn the heat up."

"So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"

"Oh, I know exactly the place," Donna smiled widely with just one spot in her mind. "Two and a half miles, that way!" she jerked a thumb to her left.

Although confused, the Doctor and Renata obeyed. It became clear where they were headed when they saw a street lined with similar houses. Donna hurried to the doors, to get them opened. It was almost an instant when she saw her grandfather looking up into the sky through his prized telescope.  
She waved ecstatically below. Renata and the Doctor waved from behind, although neither was sure if the grandfather would see them. Still, it didn't hurt to be nice.

Afterwards, when all was calm, Renata started for the corridors. "I'm just going to get dinner started. Donna, allergic to anything?"

"N-no…" replied the finger, fairly confused. "Though if it's alien meals then I wouldn't know would I…?"

Renata chuckled. "Fair enough." She disappeared soon after.

Curious, Donna looked to the Doctor who seemed quite at home. "Uh...since when do you do dinners? Last time I asked you disappeared into the night."

The Doctor smiled and looked up from the console after setting them in the time vortex for a peaceful night. "Oh that's just Renata. She does that every night. Sort of our tradition actually."

"Sorry, I never asked...are you and her…?" Donna gave a meaningful tilt of her head.

"No!" the Doctor quickly clarified before word made it to Renata. "No, we're not! Actually," he moved around the console, "Renata is one of my people. She's a Time Lady. Last one."

Donna didn't know what happened to the Doctor's home but she assumed it was not good. It was incredibly good to see that the Doctor was not alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P. S: I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just drop by to talk! I drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	8. Pompeii and Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Renata take Donna to her first trip in the TARDIS to the past! Unfortunately, Pompeii brings up a lot of morality questions that leaves Donna wondering if the Doctor is really like she imagined. Plus, it gives Donna the opportunity to decide what kind of companion Renata is.

The Doctor pushed aside a tattered curtain to reveal a street full of market stalls with people, dressed in ancient clothing, walking in-between. "Ancient Rome," he happily introduced to Renata and Donna. "Well, not to them, obviously. To all intents and purposes right now... this is brand new Rome."

Donna was ecstatic of the sight. "Oh my God, it's... it's so _Roman_! This is fantastic!" she surprised the Doctor with a big hug. "I'm here... in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome." She pulled away and walked a bit ahead. "This is just weird. I mean, everyone here is dead."

Renata blinked. "I don't...think you should go telling them that. Humans get very upset when you mention their comically short lifespan-"

"-oh, but _I_ should watch what I say around humans?" the Doctor was giving her a disapproving, yet completely amused, glance.

"Oh my God, Donna I am so sorry!" Renata realized how rude she'd been and wanted to apologize for it, but she saw that Donna hadn't even heard her comment. She was too entranced with the new environment.

"Hold on a minute," Donna suddenly frowned, "That sign over there is in English. Are you having me on?" she turned sideways, throwing accusing looks at the aliens. "Are we in Epcot?"

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor swore. "That's the TARDIS translation circuits. Just makes it look like English... speech as well. You're talking Latin right now."

Initially, Donna didn't believe it. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Renata was close to laughing.

Donna thought about it for a minute then laughed. "I just said 'seriously' in Latin. What if I said something in actual Latin? Like 'veni, vidi, vici'? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni, vidi, vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"

The Doctor tried to search for an honest answer but he wasn't able to find one and pouted. "I'm not sure - you have to think of difficult questions, don't you?"

Donna smirked, pointing at him. "I'm gonna try it."

"Doctor, stop her, it's not a good idea," Renata shook his arm a bit. "She could cause a fight! She could get hurt! She could-"

"Nah," the Doctor shrugged off her concerns. He was fairly interested in what would result from Donna's quest anyways. Renata frowned at how irresponsible that was but she wasn't remotely surprised by it.

"Hello, sweetheart." the stallholder that Donna approached greeted her kindly. "What can I get for you, my love?"

Donna pretended to look at the fruit in front of her before saying, "Veni, vidi, vici."

"Huh?" the Stallholder raised an eyebrow. "Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No can do, missy."

"Yeah," Donna turned on her heels and walked back to the awaiting aliens. "What does he mean 'Celtic'?"

"Welsh," the Doctor replied. "You sound Welsh. There we are. That's something."

Renata shook his head at his casualness. "That could have gone completely wrong, you know!" she walked between him and Donna. "Donna could have said something offensive without knowing and then what would have happened? Being a woman-"

"Bit of a stickler, aren't we?" Donna nudged her on the side, smirking when Renata pursed her lips. It was clear as water that it wasn't the first time Renata heard something similar.

Because, in fact, she had heard it before…

* * *

" _And don't you see, instead of making them all work so monotonously we could alternate them so that each gets a turn to do a different part!" a young Doctor finished explaining his new idea for Zuriah._

_The young Time Lady stood just in front of him, with arms crossed, and pursed lips. "You have no authority to give me ideas. You're here to help me with the plans that already exist, remember?"_

_The Doctor, was at this point, accustomed to her common cold stances. "Zuriah, it's just a way to keep your co-workers upbeat and **alive**. You don't have to be such a stickler all the time!"_

_Zuriah's eyes widened, her arms dropping to her sides. " **What** was that? That word? It's Earth language I know it is. What's it mean?" because clearly he had such a negative connotation on it._

" _That you don't know how to have fun!" the Doctor didn't hesitate to clarify. "In fact, you **suck** the fun out of everything!"_

_Zuriah breathed harder, doing her best - as she was always trained - to keep her anger from showing. But the Doctor smirking right at her didn't help at all. He enjoyed it._

_"Something on your mind, dear Zuriah?" he leaned forwards, getting in her face._

_Zuriah was close to smacking him - my God she needed to control herself. "You're...you're going to make me regenerate out of pure stress," she responded in a low mutter before she decided to work in another area. It was the only way she could keep herself in check._

_The Doctor's smirk only widened after she left. He actually enjoyed getting that face she always made when she was close to exploding. He could tell a mile off that she was trained to remain that high class Time Lady society would regard her as after graduating. The way she scrunched her face and balled her fists were like fuel for his game. He loved it._

_His smirk faded a little bit after thinking that. He **loved** it? He turned sideways and watched as Zuriah went around setting up for the activity they would be doing later._

* * *

Donna stopped by an intersection to look up at an interesting mountain. "I'm not an expert, but there are Seven Hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they only got one?"

The Doctor followed her gaze up to the _one_ mountain in the distant and became pensive. He didn't have much time to do so when the ground under them shook like an earthquake.

"Here we go again!" they heard one of the vendors cry out to the others. Every vendor did what they could so their merchandise wouldn't be ruined.

"Wait a minute!" Donna gasped. "One mountain... with smoke... which makes this…"

"Pompeii," Renata breathed in nervously, and outright terrified. "Doctor-" she turned on him, "-we're in Pompeii... and it's Volcano Day!"

The Doctor was horrified in return, eyes stuck on that one mountain. Renata wasn't going to let him just stare like an idiot.

"We have to go! We can't stay here!" she moved around him and pulled on his arm to follow her. "Donna, c'mon!"

The three hurried back in the same direction they'd come in through. When they arrived at the place where the TARDIS was meant to be, they came to shocking sight of nothing.

"You're kidding," Renata sighed deeply, thinking that of course it would be something that would happen to them.

"Don't tell me the TARDIS is gone…" Donna put a hand on her forehead.

"Okay," the Doctor found it easy to comply.

"Where is it then?"

"You told us not to tell you."

Donna let her hand drop from her head, frowning at his sarcasm. "Don't get clever in Latin!"

"Stop arguing!" Renata turned around to the market stands. "Maybe one of them saw something."

"Good idea," the Doctor rushed up to the closest stand. "Um...excuse me! Excuse me! There was a box-big, blue box. Big, blue, wooden box...just over there. Where's it gone?"

"Sold it, didn't I?" the vendor smugly responded.

The Doctor's face was stunned. "But... it wasn't yours to sell."

"It was on my patch, wasn't it? I got 15 sesterce for it. Lovely jubbly."

"He did what now!?" Renata had heard the last bit and, outraged, stalked up beside the Doctor. "Why would you sell something that wasn't yours!? I'll have the authorities on you-" she was in the middle of pointing a sharpened nail at him when the Doctor pulled her away.

"Renée!" he held her back for a moment to get an important answer out of the vendor. "Who did you sell it to?"

"Old Caecilius," the vendor replied, beedy eyes on the feisty blonde still glaring at him. "Look... if you want to argue, why don't you take it up with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa can't miss it."

"We can't argue with an innocent man who was conned!" Renata exclaimed, starting again with her scolds. "You had no right! I'm going to make sure you pay to the fullest extent-"

"Let's go!" the Doctor forcibly pulled her away from the stall.

"Let me go!" Renata fought against his arms while they started heading for Caecilius' place, Donna just beside the Doctor.

The Doctor was reluctant to let go thinking she might go back to the vendor and continue shouting at him. "You can't argue the way you are," he warned.

"I know!"

Slowly, he retracted his arms from her until she just pushed them away from her. With a huff, she straightened her blouse and looked back.

They split up thinking it was better to find the needed address quicker. When they got back together at an intersection, they found someone was not on the same page.

"Ha! I've got it! Foss Street, this way!" the Doctor nodded for a street they were to go in through.

"No, I've found this big sort of amphitheatre I think…" Donna revealed, slightly breathless from the running she had to do in order to find the place. "We can start there. We can get everyone together. Then maybe they've got a great, big bell or something we could ring…?" she looked around. "Have they invented bells yet?"

"I don't think a bell is useful in this situation," Renata made a face.

"We need it to warn everyone!" Donna exclaimed. "To start the evacuation! What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

It was then that both aliens realized what Donna was trying to do. Both went deadly serious.

"It's 79 AD, 23 of August which makes Volcano Day tomorrow," the Doctor was the one to answer.

"Plenty of time. We can get everyone out easy!" Donna beamed.

"Yeah, Donna, but...we _can't_ ," Renata said, trying to gesture them it was time to keep moving.

Brief confusion flashed through Donna's face but it went away almost as quick as it had come. "But that's what you do," she looked at the Doctor. "You're the Doctor. You save people."

"But not this time," the Doctor continued with a gravely serious tone. "Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens happens. There is no stopping it."

Donna just didn't accept that. "Says who?"

"Says the race that was built around time," Renata answered rather sourly. "Hence _Time_ Lord and _Time_ Lady."

"Listen time lady," Donna threw the title like nothing, "Titles are nothing. Donna-" she pointed at herself, "-human, and I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."

"You stand in the marketplace and announce the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer!" the Doctor reached over for her. "Now, come on. TARDIS, we are getting out of here."

But Donna yanked her hand from his. "Well, I just might have something to say about that, spaceman!"

"Oh, I bet you will!" the Doctor pointed the way in which they would be talking.

~ 0 ~

On their way into the villa, the ground began to shake again. The family inside had gone to their appointed places to keep their most valuables from falling to pieces. There was one bust, however, that would have completely shattered if the Doctor hadn't caught it in time.

"There you go," the Doctor handed the bust back to Caecilus himself who then put the bust on its podium.

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."

"Oh, that's me," the Doctor pointed at himself. From behind he could practically hear Renata rolling her eyes for lying again. The Doctor leaned to shake Caecilius' hand. "We're visitors. Hello."

"Who are you?"

"I am... Spartacus."

"Really?" came Renata's sour question. She stepped up beside the Doctor, glaring in annoyance.

This time, however, the Doctor would get back at her. "And so is she," he pointed at her.

Renata's mouth fell open.

"Mr and Mrs Spartacus?" Caecilius wondered.

 _Backfire. Backfire. Backfire._ The Doctor quickly shook his head. "Oh no, we're not married."

"N-n-n-n-n-no!" Renata sputtered out, face as red as a tomato. "Never!"

Donna took notice of that and made a mental note to go back on that. "Cousins," she supplied for them all. "We're all cousins."

"Well, anyways, I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade," Caecilius informed the trio.

"And that trade would be?" the Doctor inquired.

"Marble. Lucius Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"Is that like a motto?" Renata thought about. "Catchy."

"We're marble inspectors," the Doctor declared and took out the psychic paper to prove his words.

Caecilius' wife, Metella, gasped. "By the gods of commerce, an inspection." Not wasting a minute, she took the a cup of wine from her youngest son, Quintus. "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son." She hurried to drop the contents of the cup into the pool of the room.

"Oi!" Quintus clearly didn't agree with the norms expected of them.

"This is my good wife, Metella," Caecilius properly introduced. "I- I must confess, we're not prepared for a-"

"Nothing to worry about," the Doctor began to take a look around the room in hopes of finding his TARDIS. "I- I'm sure you've got nothing to hide. Although, frankly, that…" he felt relieved to find his box unharmed and unopened, "...object... rather looks like wood to me."

"Oh," Renata was also relieved to see the TARDIS and followed the Doctor after it.

"I told you to get rid of it!" Metella hissed at her husband, evidently on the fence of his newest purchase.

"I only bought it today," Caecilius briefly explained.

"Ah, well. Caveat emptor," the Doctor turned around.

"Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although," Donna cut in, rather suspiciously Renata noted, "while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?"

Renata sighed, shaking her head. The Doctor was not pleased to find Donna had yet to desist in her idea. "I don't know what you mean, Spartacus."

"Oh, this lovely family, mother and father and son... Don't you think they should get out of town?"

Caecilus stared at the ginger, confused. "Why should we do that?"

Renata rubbed her forehead. This was why she was always weary of humans. They thought they knew what was best when in reality they knew next to nothing! Donna had no intentions of harming but if she kept it up she would do more bad than the good she strove for. Honestly, sometimes, she had no idea what the Doctor saw in humans that had him so...fascinated with them.

"Well, the volcano for starters," Donna sarcastically said.

"What?" Caecilius had tried following but the last word stumped him.

"Volcano," Donna repeated for him.

"What-ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep?"

"Oh my God," Renata decided enough was enough. "Excuse us, really. We haven't even greeted the household gods yet." With a widened, fake smile, she turned away from the family and dragged both Donna and the Doctor with her to the small side room with the shrine. "Donna, you can't just go and do this! There are _rules_! Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet."

The Doctor sprinkled water on the frieze of the Gods, completely agreeing with Renata. "The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

Donna narrowed her eyes on the two. "Oh great. They can learn a new word... when they die!"

"Donna, stop it-"

"Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flyin' around with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy…" Donna jerked a thumb in Quintus' direction, "...how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."

"And that's our fault?" Renata scowled.

"Right now, yes!"

"Donna, you don't understand this, okay? It's not-"

A servant, Rhombus, entered the room to announce the newest visitor. "Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the city government."

The trip turned in time to see an older man striding into the room, brokering brimming with confidence that borderline into smugness. "Lucius, my pleasure as always."

Metella ushered her son to be polite. "Quintus, stand up."

"A rare and great honor, sir, for you to come to my house," Caecilius happily went to greet Lucius, holding a hand out to shake but the man ignored it.

"The birds are flying north... and the wind is in the west."

Caecilius did not want to be rude and say he did not understand. "Right. Absolutely. That's good, is it?"

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow," Lucius continued, a total smug look forming on his face.

"There now, Metella, have you ever heard such wisdom?" Caecilius turned to his wife.

"Never. It's an honor," Metella praised.

Renata almost rolled her eyes at the family. She knew the game all too well. When you're in the presence of noble families, you _always_ have to feed their egos. It was such a boring game and a frustrating one, but Renata had been trained since she was small to do it.

"Pardon me, sir, I have guests," Caecilius motioned to the three travelers. "This is Spartacus, and, uh, Spartacus, and…"

"We'll be kind and stop you," Renata said out of pity for the man who was doing his best to keep it together.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind," Lucius began with another round of knowledgeable words, but he had met his match with the Doctor.

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," the Time Lord delivered within the next second.

"Ah! What is the dark other than an omen of the sun?"

"I concede that every sun must set…"

"Ha!" Lucius said all too quick.

"...and yet the son of the father must also rise," the Doctor finished rather proudly.

"Damn. Very clever, sir," Lucius conceded. "Evidently a man of learning."

"Oh yes, but don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo," the Doctor waved it off and winced when Renata reminded that 'status quo' had not been introduced yet.

"We'll be off in a minute," Renata assured Caecilius and Lucius politely. She pointed the Doctor to the TARDIS and the man started leading the way.

"I'm not going," Donna hissed at them.

The Doctor turned around to face the ginger's angry look. "You've got to."

"Well I'm not!"

"Donna!" Renata sighed, frustrated that Donna was being so stubborn.

"And here it is…" Caecilius' voice drew them to the man who had just revealed some sort of squares piece of marble...bearing intricate, almost tech-like, designs. "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?" he anxiously awaited for Lucius' response.

"As the rain pleases the soil."

"D-Doctor, what are you-" Renata whispered frantically when the Doctor went back to the men. Did he not see they had to leave!?

"Oh now that's... different," the Doctor came by the marble piece, ready to get some investigating on. "Who designed that then?"

"My lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius said, still proud of his work.

The Doctor only got more suspicious and glanced at Lucius. "Where'd you get the pattern?"

"On the rain and mist and wind."

Renata and Donna had also come back, although the latter was more glad than the former. "Well that looks like a circuit," Donna remarked.

"Made of stone…" the Doctor carefully passed a finger down the marble.

"Do you mean you just dreamt that up?" Renata suspiciously eyes Lucius, her mind already alerting that this was not possible.

"That is my job... as City Augur," Lucius declared smugly.

"What's that then, like the mayor?" Donna scrunched her nose in confusion.

"Oh, ah, you must excuse my friend. She's from... Barcelona," the Doctor excused lamely and took Donna aside to explain quietly. "This is an age of superstition... of official superstition. The augur is paid by the city to tell the future. "The wind will blow from the west." That's the equivalent of the 10:00 news."

A pale, young brunette woman, presumably the daughter of the family, Evelina, came into the room. Her stance was languid, and her face distant. "They're laughing at us," she pointed an accusing finger at the travelers. "Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."

Renata panicked and looked at the girl, although momentarily surprised of Evelina's sickish appearance. "N-n-n-no, we meant no offence. Really!"

Metella rushed to her daughter in hopes of remedying Evelina's imprudence. "I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapors."

Quintus was horrified to see the state of his sister. "By the gods, Mother! What have you been doing to her?"

"Not now, Quintus," Caecilius shushed his son.

"But she's sick. Just look at her!"

Lucius stared at Evelina, unimpressed. "I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sybiline Sisterhood," Metella proudly said. "They say she has remarkable visions."

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull," Lucius flatly said, still unimpressed. "Only the men folk have the capacity for true perception."

Renata's eyebrows raised and she almost gaped but quickly shut her mouth. Donna saw that and frowned at such passiveness. Well, she owned none of that. "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate!" she warned Lucius. Soon after, the ground quaked.

"The mountain god marks your words. I'd be careful if I were you," Lucius motioned to their state.

"Consuming the vapors, you say?" the Doctor glanced at Evelina with a mild degree of concern. The girl really looked like she might pass out at any moment.

"They give me strength," the girl raised her head, evidently trying to make herself appear stronger than she actually was.

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion... as a doctor?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor," Evelina simply said. "That's your name."

The trio of travelers shared the same bewildered expressions.

"How did you know that?" the Doctor inquired.

"And you," Evelina's eyes flickered to Donna, "you call yourself noble. And your name-" she addressed Renata, "-is hidden behind another. Your rebirth will not be enough to hide."

"Now then Evelina, don't be rude," Metella gently pulled on Evelina's arm towards the hallways but Evelina pulled her arm and remained where she was.

"No, no, no. Let her talk," the Doctor was honestly curious of what else the girl would say. Renata, honestly, wished the girl would shut up before she said anything else about her.

"You three come from so far away," Evelina continued to say.

Lucius unceremoniously interjected. "A female soothsayer in inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."

"Oh, not this time, Lucius. I reckon you've been out-soothsaid," the Doctor glanced back at the irritated man.

"Is that so... man from Gallifrey?" Lucius responded smugly, knowing that he was correct.

"What?" the Doctor stepped back, stunned of the correct vision.

"Strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna inched closer to the aliens.

Lucius narrowed his eyes on her. "And you, daughter of... London."

Donna gasped. "How does he know that?"

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"But that's impossible!"

"Doctor, she is returning," Lucius warned.

The Doctor suspiciously stared. "Who is? Who's she?"

But Lucius was not finished. "And you, Daughter of London... you have something on your back."

"Hey! Enough!" Renata shouted, but instigated visions of _her_ next.

"You cannot hide forever. Your name will rise again through the galaxies, like a butterfly-"

"Stop it!" Renata yelled, horrified.

"But your names are false," Evelina continued the streak of visions, forcing both aliens to turn yet again. "Your real names are hidden. It burns in the stars of the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir. And you are a lady. A lord and lady... of time…" She stopped to take a breath but fainted out of her fragile state.

"Evelina!" Metella exclaimed.

~0~

Evelina remained unconscious for the rest of the day. She was taken to her room where her mother would keep watch on her. When Renata and Donna walked into the room, Metella was lightly soothing one of Evelina's arms.

Feeling the women's presence, Metella tried to excuse her daughter's behavior from earlier. "She didn't mean to be rude. She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her…"

Renata lightly gasped when Metella unwrapped the cloth she had around Evelina's arm. Donna tried not to stare like she was horrified.

"What's wrong with her arm?" the ginger asked.

"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night," Metella sighed and left the cloth on the night stand. Renata began to study the 'irritation' and moved around the bed to get a closer look. "Evelina said you'd come from far away. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"

"Not a doctor, but…" Renata mumbled and gently touched Evelina's arm, thinking she would have to go through various thinking stages to come up with a decent answer. When her fingers touched the irritated skin, however, she found it to be such an easy answer, and yet a very confusing one at that. "It's _stone_."

Donna had a face that said she couldn't believe it. Renata couldn't blame her.

"Scuse me," Renata mumbled again and headed out the room. This was not normal - it was Pompeii! Oh there was something going on and she had a hunch that the Doctor was already ahead.

She went in search of the Doctor to inform him of Evelina's situation but came up short when she saw the empty main room. She did see, however, that the hypocaust was missing its grill. "He definitely got started," she slowly walked up to the hypocaust but stopped midway when she heard her shoes crunching over something on the floor. Looking down, she saw various particles on the floor like they had burst through something. Her eyebrows knitted together as they looked from the floor to the hypocaust. Bending down, she picked one of the particles up and discovered it was a _rock_. Her mind wandered back to Evelina and her arm and deduced they were related. If Evelina was 'consuming' the vapors then she was consuming more things than she thought.

She dared to believe that the Doctor was still around and decided to give one last check up. When she found no such Time Lord, she groaned inwardly and headed back for Evelina's room. She would say that she was surprised that the Doctor had gone off God knew where without her...but that was a lie. It was so like the Doctor.

Coming into Evelina's room, Renata stopped short at the sight of Evelina - now awake - laughing as Donna posed in a new purple gown of the era. "What - how long was I gone!?" Renata took a double-take.

"Long!" Donna passed one drape of her gown over her shoulder. "Where did you go?"

"To get the Doctor, where else?" Renata sighed, passing a hand through her hair. "But of course, being who he is, he's gone."

"You've known him for a long time, then?" Donna curiously wondered and didn't fail to notice how alarmed Renata became.

"No, not at all! Anyways, what's going on here?" Renata turned to Evelina, missing Donna's sharp look on her. "Are you feeling better?" she asked Evelina.

"Yes, thank you," the girl nodded, smiling.

"And...I see you were playing dress up…?" Renata's gaze drifted to Donna's choice of attire.

Donna beamed. "We could get you into one, can't we?" she glanced at Evelina.

"What!?" Renata exclaimed.

"We can!" Evelina agreed happily, getting off her bed to go retrieve a second dress.

"N-n-n-n-n-no that's fine!" Renata tried stopping the girl but Donna overpowered her with a louder voice.

"Yes! Go get one!"

And despite Renata's constant protests, she was forced into a bright, red gown with golden hemlines. She huffed as Donna stepped back from her with a laugh, clearly loving her work.

"Having fun there, Donna?" Renata asked flatly, eyes slightly glowering.

"A bit, yeah," Donna nodded, unable to stop herself from laughing one more time. Renata's eyes narrowed completely this time. "Oh c'mon, live a little!" she playfully hit Renata's arm.

"A bit hard to do when we're in Pompeii, breaking all the rules established to keep this point stable."

Donna blinked rapidly, still partly amused by the blonde. "You take everything so...serious. You're nothing like the Doctor, I tell you," Renata sighed and turned away, hoping that Evelina would come back into the room at any moment. _There it is again_ , thought Donna. There was such reluctance against the Doctor whenever she brought it up and she couldn't understand why. Why did Renata act like he was some big, delicate topic? There was _nothing_ delicate about the Doctor….right?

Evelina finally returned to the room, making Renata's prayers worthwhile. "You look wonderful," she praised Renata's new appearance kindly.

"Thank you," Renata politely responded.

"Nice to see you laugh," Donna remarked at the girl. "What do you do in old Pompeii, then... girls your age? You got... mates? Do you go hangin' about 'round the shops? T.K. Maximus?"

Evelina walked over to her bed and took a seat at the edge. "I'm promised to the sisterhood for the rest of my life."

Renata suddenly empathize with the girl. "You get any choice in that?" her stark, soft voice surprised Donna. There was something in it that indicated Renata had gone through something similar.

"It's not my decision," Evelina said so casually, like it wasn't a problem. "I have the gift of sight. The sisters chose for me."

Renata shook her head, and Donna heard her mumble 'not my decision' under her breath. Renata couldn't remember how many times she had heard that famous line from her family.

If it was in regards to the Academy, it wasn't her decision.

If it was who she needed to befriend, it wasn't her decision.

If it was what elective subjects she was going to take, it wasn't her decision.

If it was downright to _who_ she wanted to spend the rest of her life with...it wasn't her decision.

All her lives she had been told that many things weren't for her to decide on, but when she finally met someone who wanted her to choose for herself...she didn't. And that was probably what angered her more. She'd been trained all her life to follow the norms and rules that when the time came to make the most important decision of her life, she wasn't capable of doing it.

"What can you see happening tomorrow?" Donna's dangerous question pulled Renata to the present.

Evelina made nothing of it. "Is tomorrow special?"

"You tell me. What do you see?" Donna moved towards the bed, ignoring Renata's hisses for her to stay put.

Evelina followed the game without knowing. She covered her eyes, revealing a set of painted eyes on the backs of her hands. "The sun will rise. The sun will set. Nothing special at all." She dropped her hands on her laps and smiled.

"Look... don't tell the Doctor I said anything 'cause he'll kill me…" Donna began and Renata groaned from behind.

"Donna! You're not supposed to!"

"I have to _try_!" Donna snapped and settled with Evelina, ignoring the girl's confused face. "I've got a prophecy too!"

At those words, Evelina raised her hands to cover her eyes again, making Donna believe she was just trying not to listen.

"Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out. Evelina, can you hear me? Listen!"

"There is only one prophecy!"

"Donna, stop it!" Renata began to scold but there was no stopping Donna.

"But everything I'm about to say to you is true. I swear. Just listen to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks... tons and tons of it and... this whole town is gonna get buried!"

"That's not true!" Evelina argued, still with her eyes covered.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but everyone's gonna die. Even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town... just for one day, just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out! Just leave Pompeii!"

"This is false prophecy!" Evelina declared, lowering her hands to reveal a glare underneath.

She breaks contact with the sisters.

"ENOUGH!" Renata couldn't see Donna making things worse but she wasn't going to wait and be proven wrong. She stalked over and grasped Donna by the arm. "We are _leaving_!"

"Oi! Oi! Oi!" Donna yanked her arm from Renata's grip midway down the hallway. "You are not my mother!"

"Well I might as well be!" Renata whirled around, furious beyond belief. "What you did in there was _wrong_!"

"Wrong?" Donna repeated, incredulous. "What? Saving these people is wrong now?"

"Unfortunately, yes! And not because I don't want to but because we _can't_. There are _rules_ -"

"Oh to hell with your rules! Is that all you do? Remind the rules?"

"Yes!" Renata exclaimed, equally as frustrated as Donna. "It's who I am, actually. You'll have to get used to it."

"I can't get used to the idea of letting people die. The Doctor is supposed to save people-"

"He's not actually. That's just a job he gave himself but he doesn't _have_ to do anything."

Donna took a breath and calmed, giving Renata a long stare. "You don't strike me as a woman who doesn't care. The Doctor wouldn't have brought you along if you didn't care about saving people."

Renata rubbed her face. "Donna, I understand what you're trying to do but...these rules I'm talking about? They're important and no one should mess with them. Not you. Not me. Not the Doctor. They're there so that people can continue to live through the years-"

"But these people-"

"-I wish could survive but they won't. And if you can't go by these important rules...maybe this isn't what you should be doing," Renata hated that she sounded so bluntly rude and cruel. There was just nothing to do. The best solution was to simply avoid places like these so that one wouldn't have to see it. It was forceful bliss.

~0~

After an eventful outing, the Doctor came running back to the villa...with the ground shaking more than ever.

"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella ran into the main room with Caecilius.

"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius," Caecilius looked around, lost.

"Caecilius! All of you, get out!" the Doctor urgently motioned.

Renata and Donna ran into the place, both surprised but Renata quickly solving the mystery. "Doctor, what did you do!?"

"I think we're being followed!" the Doctor ignored her question. Renata screamed, however, when the grille over the hypocaust was blown into the air. "Just get out!" the Doctor waved a hand for them to listen and follow. He moved over and started ushering out the people he could.

But...when the ground cracked and a loud growl filled the room...everyone stopped. A creature of mixed stone and magma pushed its way up the hypocaust.

"The gods are with us," Evelina breathed, horrified.

"Water!" the Doctor shouted to the rest. "We need water! Quintus, all of you, get water! Donna! Renata-"

"Yes, okay!" Renata hurried along with Donna and Quintus, along with a servant.

Another servant who remained, Rhombus, was entranced with the creature and stepped forwards. "Blessed are we to see the gods."

The creature, in return, breathed fire like a Dragon and burned the servant to ash. Before it could do the same to the others, the Doctor advanced next with his hands out in a nonthreatening manner. "Talk to me! That's all I want! Talk to me. Tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people!"

As the others began returning with water, Donna was captured by red-robed women. The dropped bucket splashed water and got on Renata's shoes. It made the blonde look up and see Donna being taken by strangers.

"Donna!" she dropped the bucket she was carrying and hurried to save Donna. Her attempt was futile as another robed woman grabbed her from behind and took her along.

Meanwhile, the Doctor continued brokering peace between them and the creature. "Talk to me. I'm the Doctor. Tell me who you are."

But the creature didn't listen and prepared to burn him to ashes as well. Quintus and a servant arrived in time with urns of water which they threw directly at the creature. It froze and crumbled into pieces.

"What was it?" Caecilius could only blink after the chaos stopped.

"Carapace of stone... held together by internal magma," the Doctor calmed and turned around, calming. "Not too difficult to stop. But I reckon that's just a foot soldier."

Metella shook her head, wearily looking on. "Doctor... or whatever your name is... you bring bad luck in this house."

The Doctor didn't care and clapped a hand on Quintus' shoulder. "I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?"

Quintus stared at him in shock that he would actually say those words. Soon though, he had his mother hugging him.

"Still... guess there are aliens at work in Pompeii and it's a good thing we stayed," the Doctor remarked, and immediately could hear Renata's scolds of the rules again.

He froze.

There was _no_ scolding.

Not even on why he had disappeared from the house for a while. "Renata?" he spun around in a circle to find the Time Lady but she wasn't there. And then he saw that Donna was missing too. "Donna!"

~0~

Renata was _not_ happy.

Tied up to a sacrificial altar, she turned her head to the side where Donna was also lying. "See, _this_ is why we follow the rules!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me. We're about to be sacrificed and all you can think of are the bloody rules!?"

"You fed these women what they think is a false prophecy!" Renata exclaimed, juggling her hands tied above her in another futile attempt to break free. "Had you kept quiet like the Doctor and I told you, none of this would have happened!"

"You're such a mom!"

One of the red-robed women in the place, Spurrina, approached the altar with a dagger. "You will be silent!"

Donna still did not falter. "You might have eyes on the back of your hands but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I finish with you! Let us... go!"

"This prattling will cease... forever," Spurrina raised the dagger to plunge it down on Donna.

"Oh, that'll be the day," the Doctor's voice stopped it all. He casually leaned against a pillar.

Spurrina turned fiercely, as did the rest of the sisters. "No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sybil."

"Oh, that's all right, just us girls," the Doctor mocked a high-pitched voice and started for them. "Do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance a tarantella. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said, 'I know'. Well, she would."

"If you're done telling your ridiculous story…" Renata's sharpened voice made him wince.

"You all right there?" he asked both women.

"Oh, never better," Donna sarcastically replied.

"I like the togas…" he pulled out his sonic and used it on the ropes to get them free.

"Quit your sarcasm and get us out of here," Renata scolded.

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor hurried up and broke them both free.

"What magic is this?" Spurrina demanded, although partially awed with the sonic.

The Doctor just gave the sonic a little flip between his fingers and put it away. "Let me tell you about the Sibyl... the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, eh? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes... a knife that now welcomes you!" Spurrina once again threatened with the knife.

"Show me this man," a croaky voice stopped her. Automatically, all the sisters turned to face the curtain hiding a figure and knelt down.

"High Priestess, the stranger would defy us!" Spurrina argued.

"Let me see. This one is different. He carries starlight in his wake."

"Oh okay, but ignore my presence then," Renata couldn't help say.

"Calm down, you've only barely started travelling," the Doctor comforted her then stepped towards the curtain with her and Donna. "Ah, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?"

"The gods whisper to me," the High Priestess answered.

"Oh, they've done far more than that. Ah, might I beg audience, look upon the High Priestess?"

The curtains shielding her parted and revealed the High Priestess sitting on her bed, her body nearly converted to stone.

Donna gaped. "Oh my God! What's happened to you?" Renata nudged her on the side for her outburst, although she was a bit on edge too.

"The heavens have blessed me," the High Priestess meant as an explanation.

The Doctor was the only one who kept it completely together. "If I might…" he motioned he wanted to step closer and received an approving raised arm. He walked up the small steps up to the woman and examined her stoned skin. "Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary."

"And who told you that?" Renata suspiciously inquired, preferring to stay where she was in case it was seemed disrespectful.

"The voices."

"It's the same condition on Evelina's arm," Renata's eyes trailed the woman's stone figure.

"Is this what's gonna happen to all of you?" Donna realized and turned to the other sisters.

Spurrina approached her with her sleeve pulled back of her arm which was also bearing bits of stone. "The blessings are manifold."

"They're stone," Renata still couldn't get over it. "At Caecilius' hypocaust-" she looked at the Doctor inquisitively, "-there was small bits of _stone_."

"Yeah," the Doctor confirmed and returned to her and Donna. "The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?"

Renata sighed. "You just brought up the future word again - volcano?" the Doctor winced at the truth behind the words.

"This word…" the High Priestess called again, "...this image in your mind, this "volcano", what is that?"

"More to the point, why don't you know about it?" the Doctor asked, knowing that whatever was blocking the vision of the great volcano was probably not human. "Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibyline."

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature inside you," the Doctor clarified himself. "The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust in the lungs... taking over the flesh and turning it into... what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible."

"Oh, but you can read my mind. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are!"

And so they did.

"We... are... awakening!" the High Priestess' voice suddenly echoed with others.

"The voice of the gods!" Spurrina made the mistake as did the rest of the sisters.

"Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power." they all chanted.

"By the Shadow Proclamation rules, they have to identify themselves if they're inhabiting another species' body," Renata whispered to the Doctor.

"My friend is right," the Doctor nodded. "So name yourself! Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."

"We... are... rising!" the echoing voices repeated.

"We demand your name!" Renata stepped forwards. "Tell us your name this instant!"

The High Priestess pulled her hood down and revealed her stone-like face. "Pyrovile!"

"Pyrovile. Pyrovile," the sisters chanted behind, in the dark of what the name actually meant.

Donna stepped closer to her friends. "What's a Pyrovile?"

"Well, that's a Pyrovile... growing inside her," Renata explained, swallowing hard when she remembered the hypocaust incident. "She's at the halfway stage."

"Well, and that turns into?"

"That thing in the villa, that was an adult Pyrovile," the Doctor answered, missing her gaping reaction.

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor," the High Priestess declared.

"I warn you... I'm armed," the Doctor whipped out a pistol. "Renata, Donna, get that grille open."

Renata was stuck on the oddly colored pistol in his hand. "What are...?"

"Just…" the Doctor nodded for her to go. Renata shook her head and went along with Donna. "What are the Pyrovile doing here?" he then asked.

"We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and so fast we were rendered into dust."

"Right. Creatures of stone shatter on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."

The Doctor tried making sense of it all. "Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourself, but why the psychic powers?"

"We opened their minds and found such gifts."

"Yeah, okay, fine. You force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that. I get that. Yeah, but... seeing the future, that is way beyond psychic, you can see through time," the Doctor left it clear this was just impossible. "Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

"Doctor!" called Renata. "We've got it!" she and Donna had pulled the grill off the nearest hypocaust

"Now get down!" the Doctor inched closer to them, still aiming his pistol at the High Priestess.

Donna did a double take at the hypocaust. "What, down there?"

"Yes, down there!" the Doctor shouted. Renata then began to help Donna get in. "Why can't this lot predict the volcano? Why is it being hidden?" that was the last thing he couldn't understand.

"Sisters, I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless," Spurrina gasped when she saw the truth.

"Yeah, but it's got a sting!" the Doctor promised right before shooting said water pistol at the High Priestess, causing her to moan as it stung her body. "Get down there!" he urgently said for Renata who'd remained above watching.

Startled, and frankly a bit scared, she dropped into the opening on the first call. Donna was already waiting for then in the hot cavern.

"You used a water pistol on her!?" Renata incredulously asked after the Doctor came through.

"It was that or a sonic!"

"Water pistol!?"

The Doctor's face scrunched up, his turn to be incredulous. "I'm sorry, are you _disappointed_!?"

Donna inwardly groaned. "Oi! Where are we going now?"

"Into the volcano," the Doctor nodded to the path ahead.

"No way…"

"Yes way," he twirled the pistol around his fingers.

"You are unbelievable," Renata declared, a hint of a smile drawing across her lips.

They wasted no time hurrying down the tunnels towards Vesuvius.

"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right? For you to stop it?" Donna had to ask after reviewing all the information the Doctor had gotten.

"Still part of history," the Doctor regretted to answer.

Donna huffed. "Well, I'm history too. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"It's the rules Donna," Renata said but Donna groaned, so fed up with that word.

"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux," the Doctor explained for the ginger. "Pompeii is fixed."

"How do you know which is which?"

The Doctor stopped walking for a moment, his face hardening. Renata shook her head, gritting her teeth together.

"Because that's what our kind does... _did_ ," her face softened. "It used to be seen as a gift...for us to be able to see how the universe turned, see what is, what was...what could be, what must not." She sighed. "At least, that's what my sister used to say." This time, the Doctor was the one to stare in surprise. This was the first time Renata spoke about her family. "She was part of the higher council and she was in charge of making sure the rules were kept in check, whether it was our regeneration cycles or time itself. That's why I'm a 'stickler' for rules," she lightly smiled at them both. "Everyone's...gone...but it's up to the Doctor and I to make sure time stays the way it should be."

Donna couldn't accept that no matter how 'proper' it sounded. "How many people died?" she went in another direction, once again forcing them to stop.

"Stop it!" the Doctor called.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted. "How many people died?"

The Doctor straightened, jaw clenching. "...twenty thousand."

Donna's eyes widened, and the incredulous expression etched itself across her face. "Is that what you can see, Doctor? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?"

" _Who_ said we thought it was right!?" Renata snapped.

But they heard the screech of a Pyrovile nearby. "They know we're here! Come on!" the Doctor hurried, and with no choice Donna followed.

They ran down the rest of the tunnels, actively avoiding pockets of flame. They entered a great cavern.

"It's the heart of Vesuvius," the Doctor said quietly as they watched Pyroviles freely walking about from a distance. "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of 'em," Donna said, horrified.

Renata squinted her eyes as she caught something interesting below. "Doctor, what's that thing over there?" she pointed.

He followed her gaze and when he couldn't see it well, he pulled out a small, collapsible telescope. He saw the interior of a ship and realized it was the Pyroviles'. "That's how they arrived... or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?"

"But why do they need a volcano?" Donna continued to misunderstand, unknowingly that her friends were already putting pieces together. "Maybe... it erupts and they launch themselves back in space or something."

"No, it's worse that that…" Renata mumbled.

Donna had to disagree there. "How can it be worse?" But a Pyrovile roaring cut her off. "It's getting closer!"

"Heathens!" Lucius positioned himself at a higher cavern, looking directly down at the trio. "Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

"Come on!" the Doctor pulled Renata and Donna into a hasty run across the cavern floor.

When Renata saw where his direction was leading, she nearly stopped midway. "We can't go in there!"

"We can't go back!"

"Crush them! Burn them!" Lucius ordered the Pyroviles below. One of them rose right in front of the trio, menacingly.

"We're so done for…" Renata gulped at the gigantic monster. Fortunately, the Doctor disagreed.

He had used his water pistol again and successfully shooed the Pyrovile away enough for them to continue running.

"There is nowhere to run, Doctor…" Lucius began just as the Doctor stopped by the front of the pod.

"Now then, Lucius. My lord Pyrovillian... don't get yourselves in a lava," the Doctor so cleverly said, or so he thought. He noticed Renata's and Donna's blank faces. "In a lava... no?"

"No," Donna answered bluntly.

"No," he then agreed and looked up at Lucius again. "But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish... once this new race of creatures is complete... then what?"

"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization," Lucius had no problem answering, believing they would he dead any second now as another Pyrovile made its way for them.

"But if you've crashed... and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna couldn't find a reasonable explanation for their stay in a primitive human civilization.

"The heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

This caught Renata's attention as it wasn't the first time it had come up. "What do you mean 'gone'? Where's it gone?"

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost," Lucius gave no more recount on that, much to Renata's disappointment. "But there is heat enough in this world for our new species to rise."

"Yeah, I should warn you, it's 70% water out there," the Doctor swayed his head.

"Water can boil and everything will burn, Doctor!"

The Doctor put his water pistol away and with a straight face said, "Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know. Renée! Donna!" he pushed both women into the pod and quickly got in himself, making sure to lock them in with the sonic.

"Uuuuh…" Renata's mouth-open stare at the door didn't need words to explain what she was thinking.

"You just trapped us!" Donna went with the old fashion scold. She sighed when the Doctor gave no care for that. "Little bit hot."

"See, the energy converted takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix which wields Pyrovile to human," the Doctor began to babble what he'd learned, being it part of his thinking process. "Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"Well, can you change it... with these controls?" Donna pointed to the panel of controls beside him.

"'Course I can, but don't you see?" the Doctor gestured with both hands. "That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano." Donna's eyebrows knitted together, confused yet slowly realizing what he meant. "Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back," Donna said, though more for her assurance than for his.

"And by averting the system we make the volcano blow all the Pyrovile up…" Renata slowly said, her eyes shining with looking tears as she realized herself too.

"We destroy Pompeii."

"It's Pompeii or the world," the Doctor left it in simpler terms.

"Oh my God," Donna had never felt so sick then at that moment.

"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's me," the Doctor straightened, forcing himself to accept the truth. "I make it happen."

"No," Renata shook her head, turning to the panel too, " _We_ would."

"Ren…" the Doctor hesitated to let her in.

"What do you think my whole speech of us being left in charge of time was for? To sound pretty and smart? No," Renata said strongly. "You and I are the l-last…" she just couldn't say it out loud, "...there's no one left," she corrected, "...and so we are at a 50/50 democracy. I vote yes. That makes it 100%."

The Doctor put his hand over hers on the control panel, his face expressing all his gratitude for this.

Donna could not take seeing them so willing to accept this awful fate. "But the Pyrovile are made of rock. Maybe they can't be blown up."

With no other choice, the Doctor began averting the system. "Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it." He stopped, his eyes flickering to Renata and Donna. "Certainly not us."

"Never mind us," Donna said the words Renata was thinking of.

The Doctor put his hands on the lever that was waiting to be pulled and activate Vesuvius. "Push this lever and it's all over. Twenty thousand people."

With shaky hands, Renata placed hers over his. "There is nothing we can do. It's our job."

The Doctor knew she was trying to make it a little better but it worked for neither. She was just as scared as he was, and just as guilty as him. Worst of all, neither was able to exert the force needed to pull the lever down. Donna saw their unwillingness and reached across, placing her hands over Renata's. They all exchanged looks, accepting this was what needed to happen.

And so, they pressed down.

It started off a cycle of events. They were blasted into the air inside the pod as the mountain began to spew out molten lava. The trio tumbled about inside until the pod came to a full stop. The Doctor, being nearest to the door, reached to open it.

"It was an escape pod!" he breathed, not able to believe he had this much luck. He reached into the pod to help Renata and Donna get out.

"Your luck is enviable!" Renata laughed.

The Doctor found a laugh too and took her hand and Donna's to get out of there. Their run had to be faster than the lava threatening to gobble them up. By the time they returned to the town, ash was already invading the town. It was hard getting through the people without falling down. While the Doctor and Renata did their best to get through, Donna stopped for a moment in hopes of saving at least some people.

"Don't! Don't go to the beach! Don't go to the beach, go to the hills!" she tried stopping some people but no one would. "Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe! Listen to me...!" she gave up and turned, spotting a little boy on his own sobbing. "Come here!" she rushed to help him but a woman came over and snatched him away.

"Give him to me!"

Donna resigned and stood, crying with nothing else to do.

The Doctor came back for her eventually. "Come on!"

Together, they ran the rest of the way to Caecilius' villa where the TARDIS was (hopefully) still standing. Caecilius and his family were huddled at the corner of the main room when they arrived at the villa.

"Gods save us, Doctor!" Caecilius begged.

The Doctor stared at the family but his mind warned him this was not meant to be. Even Renata had faltered from her cold, logical view. She was, by default, a mother hen. But the Doctor pulled her for the TARDIS.

"You can't! Doctor, you can't!" Donna shouted, running after them. The Doctor was already preparing them to leave the place as fast as possible. "You can't just leave them!"

"Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies," the Doctor snapped and sarcastically swayed his head.

"You've got to go back!" Donna was crying. "Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back!"

But the Doctor released the brake and started to finally dematerialize. While he showed no emotion, Renata was biting her lip so as to not cry.

"It's not fair," Donna said as a last resort.

"No, it's not," both time lords agreed.

"But your own planet, it burned…"

Renata closed her eyes, stifling a sob.

The Doctor snapped his head up to meet Donna's accusing look. "That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them then I would, but I can't. I can never go back! I can't! I just... can't!"

Donna could accept that, but she could not let _everyone_. "Just someone. Please," she went in another direction. "Not the whole town. Just save someone."

The Doctor paused, unsure of that request. He looked down at Renata who surprised him with a face full of tears.

"I think it's important that we do," Renata mumbled.

And so, succumbing to the one request, they returned to save one family from Vesuvius.

~0~

On the hills overlooking what was left of Pompeii stood Caecilius and his family, with the Doctor, Renata and Donna beside. The family was eternally grateful for the travelers' return but mortified to see what was left of their home.

"It is never forgotten, Caecilius. Oh time will pass, men will move on, and stories will fade, but one day... Pompeii will be found again…" the Doctor promised, "...in thousands of years... and everyone will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina?" Donna stepped around to where Evelina stood. "Can you see anything?"

Evelina shook her head. "The visions have gone."

Renata came up on Evelina's other side. "The explosion was so powerful, it cracked open a rift in time. Just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore…" she smiled softly, "You're free."

And for some reason, the Doctor and Donna detected that her words had a double, important meaning.

"But tell me... who are you, Doctor... with your words... and your temple containing such size within?" Metella couldn't help feel grateful yet overly terrified of this man.

"Oh, I was never here. Don't tell anyone," the Doctor warned.

"The great go Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of…" Caecilius paused for the right word to come to mind, "...volcano. All those people…"

As the group of travelers slipped away, the family hugged each other.

~0~

When he didn't see Renata busy making her usual dinner, the Doctor honestly worried. If there was one thing he learned about Renata in the short time they traveled together it was that Renata _needed_ some routine to function. It didn't matter if it was as small as having coffee in the morning or something bigger like dinner each night...she just needed _something_. The Doctor hadn't been one for routines that didn't involve spontaneous adventures, but he was truly committed to helping Renata keep her way of functioning. If Renata wasn't making her dinner it meant there was something troubling going on. He needed to find her.

Thankfully, the TARDIS had taken a liking to Renata and was much more amiable in helping the Doctor find her. After going down one corridor, the stopped after passing by the library and getting a glimpse of blonde. As he returned and walked into the room, he started to realize that the small noises he was hearing was in fact Renata's _crying_. He cautiously approached the couch she sat on, getting closer looks of a journal in her arms.

"Renée?"

She gasped, clearly startled, and slammed her journal shut. Quickly wiping her tears off her face, she pushed herself up. "I-I''ll get started on that dinner." She knew she'd spent too much time in there remembering everything and that the Doctor would eventually come looking for her. But she couldn't help it. Her little spills of her backstory were bringing up memories she didn't want. This time, it was more focused on her family.

"Hey, that's not what I came for," the Doctor went around the couch, showing he was only going to sit her down again. She was very protective over that journal in her hands and he wasn't about to give her reason to doubt him. "What's wrong?"

Renata bit her lip, uncertain if the smart move would be to leave or just to explain briefly what was going on. That was what her head said...her hearts on the other hand...were aching for some warm comfort.

"Renata?" the Doctor asked again. "Look, I know visiting Pompeii must have open up some things about...home…"

There was a flash of stupor on Renata's face. "You know?"

"Of course. Being the culprit it's...it's impossible," the Doctor breathed, sighing deeply afterwards.

Renata looked at him for a while. "H-how long...has it been...for you?" it was a question she had never thought of in the time she'd met him again.

The Doctor got to thinking for a moment. "Um...about...about a year and a half I think. You?"

Renata shook her head, bitterly smiling. "About 55 years now. Yet I'm more affected than you, go figure. Today, I thought more about my family than I would have liked. It crushes my hearts that I can't ever see them again."

The Doctor never felt more guilt than at that moment. He always felt guilty about destroying his home, but having a Time Lady in front of him, crying and missing the home he destroyed was...indescribable.

"Can I tell you something?" Renata whispered, her voice frail.

"Sure, anything."

Renata's fingers gripped her journal as a fierce determination took her over. "I would do _anything_ to get Gallifrey back." The Doctor blinked, so stunned that he couldn't make up words for the first couple of seconds. "I know what I said back in 1914 but...living here with you...remembering our home...I miss it. I miss the skies, I miss my family - however dysfunctional we were they were mine - and I miss my job. I want it back. I want it all back."

The Doctor had never seen Renata so...livid about something, and much less about this. He felt a terrible ping in his chest as he considered the probability of Renata ever getting her wish. He had made sure of that, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P. S: I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	9. Friends of the Ood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna Noble visits her first alien planet and -- surprise, surprise -- they run into some trouble. Meanwhile, Renata and the Doctor begin to open up to each other about their pasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't think I've mentioned this before but the theme song for Renata and the Doctor is "Home" by Gabrielle Aplin! (As well as being the overall theme for Renata). Another theme for Renata is the song "Butterfly" by Luna Mae!

" _You can't just change my rules!" a first incarnation Renata, Zuriah, shouted at the first incarnation Doctor. "I have a specific way of doing things to ensure utmost production and you just waltz in - with a misdemeanor shall I remind - thinking you'll get privileges?"_

_The Doctor was close to pulling his hair out because of this woman. "It's just a tweak, Zuriah. Everyone liked it, why can't you?"_

" _Because it's throwing off my routine!"_

" _Okay, but-" the Doctor strode up to her, grinning like an idiot, "-think about it as upgrade. Plus, I shaved off twenty minutes off your schedule giving you some free time for yourself."_

_Zuriah gave off a small sigh, crossing her arms. "You can't just expect me to always go along with your crazy ideas."_

_But the Doctor stayed smiling, because those were the usual words she said right before she agreed with his ideas. "You like my crazy ideas," he nudged her with his arm, pulling a little smile from her. "Right?"_

_Zuriah got a tingle when he flashed an even bigger grin at her. She didn't know what it was but she felt it a bit wrong..._

* * *

Renata shook her head to snap herself from her memories. "It's only morning and you're already doing this to yourself," she cursed herself. _Technically I've been at this since the day I was brought into the TARDIS._ She groaned. "Because that makes it better."

She walked to her closet to take out some clothes for the day. Any moment, she was sure, the Doctor would come by knocking and say it was time to go out. Because Donna was now expecting a foreign planet, the Doctor was incredibly giddy to deliver. They'd seen more historical points of earth and Donna felt it was high time she was shown a proper alien planet. The Doctor wouldn't be the Doctor if he didn't agree on the first time.

And so, Renata pulled out a beige blouse with buttoned cuffs and a pair of darker colored pants. She looked at herself in her full length mirror after slipping on a pair of shoes.

"What would he do if he knew who you are?" she stared endlessly at her reflection. Her once ginger hair and freckled face was said to be the most adorable face in the galaxy. _Leave it to the Doctor to be the corniest of all_. She smiled, running her hands through her long blonde hair. "He probably wouldn't be as enthralled as before. He'd probably hate me."

Her smile faded as the memory of their last encounter, before their respective wedding and graduation, resurfaced. The look on the Doctor's face was one she would never forget. She was sure that he had thought the same in that moment.

~0~

Donna laughed as the TARDIS wildly lurched side to side. She was amazed they hadn't yet crashed into something, whether a meteorite or an asteroid but the box kept on like nothing. Renata seemed more or less used to the bumpy rides. She clung to the bottom parts of the console while the Doctor piloted them God knew where.

"Set the controls to random! Mystery tour!" the Doctor promised Donna after finally landing. "Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, any when in the whole wide- are you alright?"

Donna was smiling widely but there was a hint of fear sitting in her eyes. "Terrified. I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet…"

"We could always take you home if it scares you," Renata said, pulling her hands from the console.

Donna shot her a look. She was sure Renata didn't really understand the concept of 'yes I'm scared but I still want to do it' unlike the Doctor. "Yeah, don't laugh at me."

Renata blinked, totally not understanding. "I was being serious. I know the travelling isn't for everyone."

"Yet here you are," the Doctor thought he had mumbled quietly enough to get by but Renata scoffed at him.

"You _stole_ me!"

The Doctor groaned, feigning exasperation with her. Truth be told it was a bit amusing watching Renata get so worked up over something she clearly wasn't upset about anymore. Besides, it made him feel a tinge of unashamed pride. He'd never actually stolen anyone and he never planned on actually doing it, but with Renata it was a completely different story. He knew, he was sure, that Renata _did_ want to come along but something was preventing her from admitting it. In the end, though, something made her stay and that was what he was proud of: he'd managed to convince Renata to stay despite it all.

"Right before you two start bickering, I'm going to pop out and see where it is that we landed," Donna called to them, making a gesture she would be leaving.

"You stole me," Renata reiterated once more in a hushed tone as they followed Donna. The Doctor smirked and picked up his coat along the way.

They stepped out to find themselves in a snowy planet that was blowing little snowflakes in their faces. It almost appeared like a blizzard.

"Oh, it's freezing!" Donna shivered, a bit disappointed this was her first grand alien planet.

"You brought us to a blizzard," Renata was less than pleased with their surroundings. The landscape was completely covered in white snow and this was somehow meant to be fantastic? "Doctor, did you even bother to check for the environment?"

"When I said 'surprise' I meant _surprise_ ," the Doctor reminded. "But c'mon, what's wrong here? It's _real_ snow! That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?" he leaned forwards to see Donna.

Donna thought it should have been obvious, she was shivering and he was really asking her what she thought of the place? Renata shook her head and walked back into the TARDIS without the Doctor taking notice.

"Bit cold," Donna manage to croak.

"Look at the view!" the Doctor gestured before them to the ice and snow landscape.

"Yep. A beautiful... _cold_ view!"

"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies and we're on this one. Molto bene!" the Doctor exclaimed, missing Donna's confused face on his choice of words. " "Belissimo! Says Donna, born in Chiswick. You've had a life of work and sleep, telly and rent, takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?"

Renata emerged from the TARDIS wearing a checkered poncho-like sweater of various shades of brown with a tinge of orange on it. She held a big coat with a fur-lined hood in her arms. "You really could have checked the temperature at least," she told the Doctor and gave Donna the big coat.

"Yes, mother," the Doctor mocked. "Would you like to suck out the fun of every surprise I have planned?"

Unamused, Renata walked up beside him. "Be considerable," she gestured to Donna. She glanced at the ginger to see how she was doing. She understood humans were far more prone to the cold than she and the Doctor were. "Better?"

Donna nodded with a big grin. "Lovely, thanks."

"Comfy?" the Doctor tilted his head, a knowing smile spreading across his face as Donna nodded yet again.

"Yep!"

"Can you hear anything inside that?"

"Pardon?"

The Doctor shot a smirk at Renata. The, blonde, in return, snapped. "I _will_ wipe that smirk off your face."

"I'd like to see you try," he responded rather smugly.

Renata was ashamed to admit she felt a little tingle inside because of those words. Unknowingly, the Doctor had felt the same for a moment. It was an unintentional flirty sentence.

Suddenly, a rocket flew overhead, making the three tilt their heads up.

"A rocket. Blimey, a real, proper rocket!" Donna laughed. "Now that's what I call a spaceship!" she slapped the Doctor on the arm, still gazing to the sky. "You've got a box - he's got a Ferrari. Come on, let's see where it's going!"

The Doctor frowned after her, feeling rather indignant at the moment. His TARDIS was a time traveling machine - it beats a rocket by a landslide!

"I've never seen rockets before," he heard Renata admitted. He looked at her and saw she was still gazing upwards, clearly enthralled with the mysterious rocketship.

"But you spent time in the 51st century - this should be primitive to you," the Doctor said, just as the two began to walk after Donna.

Renata shyly smiled. "You forget I spent a blip of a moment there before I hauled myself to the 19th century. I didn't get to see anything."

"I didn't know that," the Doctor admitted, although the feeling wasn't new. He was well aware he hardly knew Renata and vice versa. He just didn't want to press her for information she was clearly didn't want to share.

"Yeah, I guess I didn't tell you," Renata said guiltily, accepted her own fault. She was afraid in the beginning to share anything because he was such a smart man that he could figure out who she was with just one sentence. And then later on when Renata felt like she could do with some backstories, she realized she didn't know _how_ to share her backstory. She had to be very cautious with what she said.

"We could change that, you know," the Doctor nervously glanced at her. He would like to believe that a few months alone had allowed them to get a little closer. "I mean, I know we say it but never act on it - u-unless...unless you don't want to…"

"No, I do want to," Renata cut him off, much to his relief. "I just...it's hard opening up…"

"We could do it bit by bit," the Doctor suggested. "I could start, if that makes it easier."

"It would, actually," Renata gave a small nod. "I'm shy…"

They both laughed.

"Alright, what would you like to know first?"

"Anything?" Renata immediately had one question she had wanted to ask for a very long time. It dated back to when Gallifrey still stood, and it shamed her for her feelings.

"Anything," the Doctor didn't put much thought to it and shrugged. What could she possibly ask that would make him think twice?

Renata bit her lip and looked straight ahead, seeing Donna in the process leading the way. She wouldn't hear them anyways.

"C'mon, anything, it's fine," the Doctor nudged her on the side. "Not like we have anyone to tell."

Renata took a small breath before pushing herself to go for it. "Everyone on Gallifrey knew when you ran away…" she stopped to see his light demeanor slowly slip away, "There were rumors everywhere."

"All bad, I assume," the Doctor muttered. It didn't make him feel regret, that was for sure.

"Most, yeah," Renata hated to remember some of the words she had come to hear. "But...but I never got the jist of it. You weren't a bad man, so why'd you do it? Why'd you leave Gallifrey?"

"My life was complicated, Renée, it was...a mess…"

Renata sheepishly smiled. "I know." And when the Doctor gave her an odd look for her words, she quickly added, "I mean, you know, you were famous and stuff."

"I was getting into trouble all the time, since I could remember," the Doctor mused on those thoughts and each time he thought of a new incident that got him into trouble, he got closer to laughing.

Renata eyed his childish grin. "Don't seem too ashamed of it."

"It wasn't all bad," and there was something about the Doctor's smile that made Renata, for a minute, wonder if he still remembered to what extent that trouble got him to.

"Helloooo?" Donna had called to them, revealing she was much up ahead than they thought. "Are you lot coming or not?"

"We should probably put a pause on that," Renata sheepishly told the Doctor and picked up her pace to catch up to Donna who'd begun to walk again.

"We could break it up in bits as we go," the Doctor offered easily, although the suggestion did surprise Renata.

She cast a wide-eyed look at him. "You actually want to tell me?"

"I meant what I said. I want to know you, Renata," the Doctor smiled and moved a bit ahead of her. Renata began to smile, a feeling of content spreading all around her. She walked after him, but she could not seem to wipe that smile off her face the whole way.

~ 0 ~

"Hold on, can you hear that?" the Doctor stopped walking to look around. There was an ethereal song filling the air. "Donna, take your hood down! Renata, you hear that?"

"Definitely," Renata nodded. Her eyes scanned the area and ultimately spotted something gray almost buried on the ground. "Over there!" the Doctor didn't hesitate to break into a run towards the body. "Doctor!" Renata groaned at his carelessness. "It could be a trap!"

"You're a paranoid one, aren't you?" Donna gave her a weird side-look.

"It's being cautious, actually," Renata sighed as she explained. This wouldn't be the first time one of his trips got them into trouble.

* * *

_"We shouldn't be here," Zuriah followed a young Doctor. With arms crossed, she hurried after him down a hallway. It was dark so she could barely see...which was why she assumed the Doctor was holding her hand._

_"Sh, we're here," the Doctor quietly turned the knob of a classroom door and led her inside._

_"You really couldn't show me your newest shenanigan tomorrow afternoon?" Zuriah complained in the dark classroom. "You know, when it's allowed?"_

_The Doctor went along the way searching for the light switch. "We wouldn't be able to see it anyways. This class is used all day."_

_"Then we definitely shouldn't be here," Zuriah reaffirmed._

_"Live a little, Zuriah." Zuriah didn't have to see to know the Doctor was shooting her a smirk. "Besides, it's for your foundation."_

_"You know, you can't always use the same excuse," she once again crossed her arms. "It's for your foundation-" she mimicked and missed the Doctor's smile in the darkness, "-and then bam! I'm supposed to just let it slide. Don't forget that **I'm** the one signing you off on your dates-"_

_The Doctor had found the light switch but not for the classroom lights...but for the projection of the solar system. Zuriah's eyes widened as stars and planets filled the room, blinking in all sorts of colors as if they were in outer-space. The projection began to slowly turn in a circle._

_"I think **this** sort of thing would be much more beneficial to your younger students learning about space," the Doctor came up to stand beside her. He was completely smug and Renata knew it._

_She pursed her lips together and shot him a side-glance. "How am I supposed to do that? It's like you said, this is used all day by the teachers."_

_"You're from a noble family, I'm sure donating one of these things should be no problem," the Doctor shrugged._

_Zuriah blinked and looked back at the projection. "I never thought about that."_

_"Of course you wouldn't have," the Doctor said so easily he almost garnered yet another glare from her. "You're stuck living in your routines. Kind of boring if you ask me."_

_Zuriah playfully rolled her eyes and turned back for the door. "Shut up and come and help me write a good proposal for a donation."_

_"Oh?" the Doctor swiftly turned on his feet but purposely moved slowly, almost sauntering in slow motion. "You want **me** to help?"_

_Zuriah had opened the door and turned sideways. "Do you want to help me or not?"_

_A big grin spread across the Doctor's face. "I wouldn't mind it, Miss Zuriah."_

* * *

Renata thought about all the safety rules she and the Doctor were throwing away by uncovering the body of an Ood. Donna was crinking her nose in disgust. The Ood's face was not a pretty sight, after all.

"What is it?" asked the ginger to the Doctor who was already on his knees beside the Ood to help him.

"An Ood," the Doctor replied, pulling out a stethoscope from within his coat. "He's called an Ood."

"It's a subservient species," Renata added, simply watching the Doctor work.

"But its face…" Donna couldn't get over it, prompting a scowling Doctor to snap.

"Donna, not now. It's a "he", not an 'it'!"

"Now don't be rude to someone who's only begun travelling," Renata came into Donna's defense. Donna had only just discovered an alien planet, after all. They couldn't expect her to know all of their customs in one go. Besides, Donna didn't seem to be the type of woman to be rude just because. "Be a little more understanding, no?"

The Doctor groaned but left it at that. He moved the stethoscope over the Ood's chest trying to locate the heart.

"Heart's located just under the...there…" Renata motioned the Doctor to lower the stethoscope just a bit more. "Some of us actually paid attention in school," she added after the questioning look the Doctor had given her.

"How would you know if I paid attention?" the Doctor focused on the Ood and missed the alarmed expression on Renata's face.

Donna did not.

"Just...by your way of being, of course," Renata quickly said and moved around to be on the Ood's other side. Distractions were needed at the moment. "What's your name?" she questioned the lying alien.

The Ood held a glowing white sphere in one of its hands and raised slightly to answer. "Designated Ood Delta 50."

"Okay, um, well my name's Renata. That's Donna and that's the Doctor. I'm sure we'll be able to help you-"

"You've been shot," the Doctor suddenly pulled back the stethoscope when he found the stream of blood on the Ood.

"Shot?" Renata quickly looked over too.

"The circle must be broken," the Ood said, getting both Time Lords to stare down.

" _What_ circle?" dreaded Renata.

The Ood's eyes blared red all of a sudden, and sprang to sit upright. The growls yanked Renata and the Doctor away from him. Just like that, however, the red faded and the Ood died.

"He's gone," Donna presumed correctly and moved forwards.

"Donna, it's best not to," Renata warned her but the ginger went right ahead anyways.

"There you are, sweetheart," Donna sighed and looked back at the aliens. "We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?"

"The snow will take care of that," the Doctor said passively and started to gaze around the area.

Donna clapped her hands of snow as she straightened back on her feet. "Who was he? What's an Ood?"

"They're servants - of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic. That was the song-it was his mind calling out."

Donna scrunched her face. "I couldn't hear anything. He sang as he was dying?"

"His eyes turned red…"

"What's that mean?"

"Trouble," Renata already knew where the thing was going and she was not liking it one bit. "Doctor, you can't meddle-"

"Well I'm sure as hell not leaving things the way they are," the Doctor pointed a finger at her before walking away.

"Why can't we just call the Shadow Proclamation, then!?" Renata called after him. Donna stood to the side, unsure of who to follow at this point.

"Because they won't care about a subservient species! Now c'mon!" the Doctor motioned the two women with a hand but never looked back.

Renata groaned and stalked after him. Donna began to see how things would work between them...and it was fairly amusing.

~ 0 ~

Civilization turned out to be only twenty steps from where the Ood was found. From what they could see it was a business company of some sort. Of course the Doctor didn't wait another second to go infiltrate, and no matter how much Renata complained she was dragged along as well.

"Sorry, sorry! We're late! Don't mind us!" the Doctor stopped a dark-skinned woman about to lead a group of businessmen into the building. "

The woman, Solana, quickly checked her clipboard where it was presumed to hold the names of the visitors. The Doctor flashed his psychic paper for her to see and introduced them.

"The Doctor, Renata Cartwright and Donna Noble."

Renata internally groaned from behind the Doctor and Donna. They were really going to sneak into a business like this…

"Representing the Noble Corporation PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna then decided to add, pushing herself forwards so that she stood beside the Doctor. Renata did a double-take at the ginger, appalled at how easily she'd lied to Solana.

Solana merely smiled after checking her list again. "Must have fallen off my list, my apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Ms. Cartwright, Dr. Noble, Mrs. Noble, if you'd like to come with me."

The Doctor sputtered at the mistake. "Oh, no, no, no, no, we're not married!"

"We're so not married!" Donna made sure to clarify.

Renata smiled for the first time in that day. If there was one thing she was sure of so far, it was that Donna Noble was not remotely interested in the Doctor. It was actually funny watching people mistaking them for a couple because every time it happened, Donna would yell 'absolutely not' and then Doctor would give her an offended look that asked ' _why couldn't we be married?_ '. Bringing Donna along was never going to be a regret of Renata's.

Solana handed over three sets of vouches to the trio and ushered them to get inside. "Here are your information packs, vouchers inside. Now if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm."

But midway in, an alarm went off. The Doctor of course stopped midway to see what could be happening now. "Oh, what's that? That sounds like an alarm."

"Nothing to worry about," Solana had the rest of the group go into the building.

Eventually, the alarm turned off and everything went normal again. Solana brought the group into a large meeting room where she headed the presentation at the stage. Behind her dazzled a screen showing the different types of Oods.

"This is sick," Donna put a hand to her stomach and looked at Renata and the Doctor to see their opinions.

"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double O - that's Ood Operations - we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends…"

"For them it's just a matter of business," Renata mumbled. There were several standing Oods around the room, motionless and awaiting for orders. Renata watched as Solana walked to the edge of the stage to better address the audience. "Of course they don't feel guilty about it."

"We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated. We don't just breed the Ood. We make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood, but a reflection of us? If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy, too…"

"I can't stand this," Donna went to leave but the Doctor grabbed onto her.

Solana stepped off the stage and moved to the one of the Oods in the room. "I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the Standard Setting." She addressed the first Ood politely. "How are you today, Ood?"

"I'm perfectly well, thank you," the first Ood responded normally.

"Or perhaps, after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen," Solana moved onto the next Ood and asked the same question. "And how are you, Ood?"

"All the better for seeing you," the second Ood responded with a sultry female's voice.

"And now I think _I_ am going to be sick," Renata passed a hand through her blonde hair and dreaded what the third Ood would sound like.

Solana reached the third, and last, Ood. "And the comedy classic option. Ood, you dropped something."

"Doh!" the third Ood responded in the same manner as Homer Simpson, causing the entire group to laugh.

"All that for only five additional credits," Solana informed afterwards. "The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so, don't hold back." She gestured to the refreshment table at the end of the room and walked out.

As soon as she was gone, the Doctor dashed for the control board with his sonic in hand.

"You're just going to hack into the system like that," Renata shook her head at him as he brought the small screen to life.

"How else are we supposed to know where we are?" the Doctor said in a logical manner.

"You could _ask_?"

"He does that and we give ourselves us," Donna shrugged. "It's better this way."

"Aha! The Ood-Sphere!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I've been to this solar system before, years ago, ages! Close to the planet Sense-Sphere."

"Okay, great, brilliant, just finish whatever you're going to do before someone questions us," Renata kept glancing to the sides at the other businessmen and women.

"The year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire!"

"4126?" Donna froze in her spot. "It's 4126? I'm in 4126!"

Renata stopped her caution to smile at Donna's awe. "Is that okay?"

"It's bloody brilliant!" cried the ginger. "What's the Earth like now?"

"Bit full. But you see, the Empire stretches out across three galaxies," the Doctor was happy to explain for her.

"It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but…" Donna laughed. "Back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming. Flooding. All the bees disappearing."

"Why the bees?" Renata's question went in vain as Donna was too excited to answer.

"But look at us! We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers? Or more like a virus?"

"I like to think of you as-"

"Don't finish that," the Doctor quietly stopped Renata. Renata made a face in return.

"What are the red dots?" Donna noticed the blinking dots on the screen which were spread apart in no particular pattern.

"Ood distribution centers," the Doctor went back to his work on the screen.

"Across the three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" Donna's words were laced with horror. She spotted a nearby Ood and walked up to it. "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

"I do not understand, Miss," the Ood responded.

Donna's widened. "Why do you say "Miss", do I look single?"

"Back to the point, Donna," Renata called, unsurprised of the brief distraction.

"Yeah," Donna was for a second sheepish. "What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere? Like wood beast."

"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise, we would die."

"But you can't have started like that. Before the humans, what were you like?"

"The circle."

"The last one said 'the circle' too," Renata quickly remembered.

The Doctor too remembered and sprinted up to the Ood's other side. "What do you mean, what circle?"

The Ood was seemingly struggling to answer in one sentence. "The circ... the circle... is…"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Solana returned to the room. "All Ood to hospitality stations, please."

"I've had enough of the schmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?" the Doctor looked at Renata and Donna with a roguish smile.

Donna was on board.

Renata's face spelled utter horror. "Absolutely _not_! We could get into _so_ much trouble for this!"

"Why did I even ask?" the Doctor mumbled to himself as he grabbed onto Renata's arm and pulled her with him whether she liked it or not.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor ignored Renata's scolding of him sonicking the fence (because it was against the rules!) and hurried them past it. They hid well and watched soldiers usher Oods - harshly - across the grounds. When an Ood fell, a soldier aggressively ordered to get up and even went as far as whipping the Ood until it got back.

"Servants? They're slaves," Donna nearly got up but Renata pushed her back down.

The Doctor was thoughtful on the matter but nonetheless disappointed. "Last time I met the Ood, I never thought. I never asked."

Donna side-glanced him. "That's not like you."

"I was busy. So busy I couldn't save them, I had to let the Ood die. I reckon I owe them one."

"That looks like the boss," Donna said after spying two men and an Ood walking across the now empty yard.

"Let's _not_ get caught by them, then," Renata rolled her eyes and added, "Since I fear this is only the beginning of sneaking about?"

"Oh yes!" the Doctor gave a big nod and led them down.

"Doctor, this is a really bad idea," Renata couldn't help herself after the trio got walking again.

"You should be used to those by now," Donna smiled at her and went a bit up ahead.

Renata rubbed her forehead wearily. "I'm...assuming you had those in your past, I know." As soon as she said that, the Doctor hummed and briefly looked up from the map he was holding.

"You know who I was, right?"

"You're unbelievable," Renata flatly said. "It's no wonder you were always in trouble back home."

"I liked having fun. What did you do back home, hm?" the Doctor startled her with.

Renata involuntarily swallowed hard. She couldn't _not_ answer that because she had to answer too - see, that's what happens when you start asking questions. It just comes back to bite you.

"C'mooon," the Doctor nudged her, thinking she was only shy in telling him some of her backstory. "What was the great, rule-abiding Renée doing before all this?"

Renata cleared her throat and passed some fingers through her hair. "My family was a noble family-"

"That's obvious," the Doctor purposely murmured, earning himself a whack on the arm.

"And I...led...programs…" Renata found herself saying. Programs were similar to foundations, right? Programs were to benefit the people and that's what her foundation did. "They were meant to help those who needed it."

"Fitting, very fitting," the Doctor smiled at her. "For you, anyways, because all the noble families I knew were selfish sticks."

"Hey!" Renata laughed.

Donna's whistle made them both stop and see that the ginger was actually behind them now. She was pointing to the door the Doctor was meant to have found.

"Where d'you learn to whistle?" the Doctor hurried back with Renata.

"West Ham, every Saturday," Donna proudly said. "And if you two hadn't been all gossipy you would have found it two minutes ago."

The Doctor pushed his map to Renata in order to sonic the door. The blonde was even more horrified.

"We're just going to enter random rooms now? You realize there could be security cameras - hey!" Renata had been yanked inside by Donna.

It turned out the room was a storage room full of dozens and dozens of containers. One giant claw hung above in the ceiling to transport the containers.

"Oh, great, now we're in the exporting room!" Renata crossed her arms and huffed. "Security camera thing, don't forget that!"

"What's the room for?" Donna said, crinkling her nose. "What do they export?"

"Oods, of course," the Doctor shrugged. "That-" he pointed to the claw, "-lifts up the containers, takes them to the rocket sheds, ready to be flown out, all over the three galaxies."

Donna stared at the containers in newfound horror. "What, you mean, these containers are full of...?"

"Oods, Donna," Renata answered for her while the Doctor actually went up to the containers to open it up.

Inside there were at least two dozen Oods crammed inside. All of them stood there, motionless and waiting to be exported.

"Oh, it stinks!" Donna said after nearing the container with Renata. "How many of them d'you think there are in each one?"

"Hundred? More?" the Doctor frankly didn't want to do the right calculation.

"A great big empire, built on slavery," Donna said with a big scowl on her face.

"Why are you so surprised?" Renata surprised her with. "Humans aren't strangers to slavery."

"Oi! I haven't got slaves!" Donna exclaimed, outraged.

"Really?" Renata leaned on one hip. "Slavery might be outlawed but your clothes are still probably made by under-paid workers who are forced to work for long, long hours without a break."

"Oi! You don't get to take cheap shots me!" Donna snapped.

"Wasn't against you just pointing out a simple fact," Renata raised her hands in defense.

Donna waved her off and focused on the Ood inside the container. "I don't understand, the door is open, why don't you just run away?"

One of the Oods in the front row responded. "For what reason?"

"You could be free!"

"I do not understand the concept!"

In all this time, Donna watched the Ood use its glowing white sphere to respond to her. "What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?"

"I don't think that's the important thing here," Renata patted her arm.

"Ood, tell me, does 'the circle' mean anything to you?" the Doctor asked the Ood.

His answer came from every single Ood in the container. "The circle must be broken."

"Clearly, this 'circle' thing is something everyone agrees upon?" Renata waited for the Doctor to continue.

"But what is it? What is the circle?"

"The circle must be broken."

"Why?"

"So that we can sing."

Right after that, loud alarms went off.

"I wonder how we were caught?" Renata sarcastically waved her hands in front of her. "It's not like there were any security cameras were around...oh _wait_!?"

"Oh for God's sake!" Donna pulled her into a run with her and the Doctor.

Renata groaned but picked up her pace to match the Doctor's. They swiftly made a turn to the left but didn't notice Donna skid to a stop.

"There's a door!" she called to them, pointing to said door behind her. That door opened up and let in a new swarm of guards.

After another turn, the Doctor realized Donna was no longer with them. "Where've you gone, Donna!?"

"Probably the authorities who are coming for us," Renata huffed at him again.

"Put a sock in it, Renée!" the Doctor blurted in his distraction.

Renata nearly exploded at him in return. " _What_ did you just say to me!? I will ring you-" but she practically screamed when she saw a life-size _claw_ coming at them.

The Doctor followed her terrified gaze and flinched. "Let's go!" he pulled her into a new run.

"In a container! Open one up!" the woman cried.

He truly tried but none of them were opened and getting the sonic out would be too much of a distraction. Renata's screams went louder in pitch each time the claw zoomed down and only narrowly missed. The Doctor finally pushed her back, purposely hard, and fought the claw on his own.

"DOCTOR!" the blonde Time Lady shouted after him. She realized his game and became even more terrified. He'd pushed her out of the way to safety but he was stupid if he thought she was just gonna take it.

The claw had knocked the Doctor over and, incredibly tired, the man waited for the inevitable grab on the ground. The claw, however, stopped inches from his face.

"Doctor!" Renata came running up to his side. She turned around to face the man controlling the claw, and spotted Solana beside him. "GET THE CLAW AWAY FROM HIM OR SO HELP ME I WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOU'D USED IT ON ME!"

"Aww, you do care," the Doctor simply could not help his cheeky grin at her.

Renata turned sideways and stared down at him. "On second thought...leave the claw…"

"Come now, Renée…?"

Renata sighed and got on her knees. She watched the claw slowly rise back to the ceiling then helped the Doctor get on his feet. "Don't you ever pull that stunt on me again, you got it?" she jabbed a finger to his chest before hugging him.

The Doctor was initially surprised by the action. Renata hardly ever touched him. She always seemed to shy away from him or put up any excuse for minimal contact. He liked her hugs. He'd like them when he was John Smith and he definitely liked them now.

The guards eventually took custody of the two and brought them to the main aisle...where they could all hear Donna's loud screams from inside a container.

"If you don't do what she says then you're really in trouble," the Doctor warned the boss, least that's what he thought the man was. The man gave a sharp look at the Doctor, but the Time Lord elaborated. "Not from me, from her."

"Unlock the container," Kess gave the order.

As soon as the container was a little opened, Donna flung it and dashed out of there. Renata noticed the ginger's face and assumed the fear was not from being trapped inside a box. She knew what that face would look like. "Donna, what is it?"

"Them!" Donna pointed at the stock of Oods marching out of the container.

Their eyes were red just like the previous Oods only these were electrocuting.

Kess panicked and took a step back. "Red alert! Fire!" at the same time, more containers opened up with the Oods in the same red-eyed state. "Shoot to kill!"

With all the guards shooting at the Oods, it was no hard trouble escaping for the group. Solana managed to get a clear way after them.

"If people back on Earth... knew what was going on here…" Donna shot the woman a glare.

"Oh-" Solana rolled her eyes, "-don't be so stupid. Of course they know!"

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"They don't ask. Same thing!"

"Solana," the Doctor moved to the woman, "the Ood aren't born like this, they can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"

Solana frowned. "That's nothing to do with me!"

"Oh, please, because you don't ask?" Renata mocked Solana's previous tone.

Solana settled a deep glare in return. "That's Dr Ryder's territory."

"Where is he? What part of the complex? I could help, with the red-eye, now show me!" the Doctor took out the map from his coat and shoved it to Solana.

"There," she pointed. "Beyond the red section."

"Come with me. You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me, you could help."

"Oh please, she would never," Renata snatched the map and started on her way without looking back. She knew all too well what devoted people were like. It was the same way classes worked. It made her sick to her stomach that she'd been like that too. Her devotion to her people, to her 'class' was part of the reason why she'd turned the Doctor down.

The Doctor and Donna eventually caught up with her without Solana. She didn't other to ask what exactly had happened but instead let the Doctor take the lead with the map. The hastily made it down through the snow and stopped when the Doctor lowered the map to gaze ahead at a silver door.

"Renata…" he called, slowly, like he was still making up his mind.

She knew him too well. "I can hear it too," she said quietly.

"Hear what?" Donna looked between them for a clue of the mysterious sound she apparently was missing.

"We didn't need the map," the Doctor rolled said map and stuffed it inside his coat. "We should've just listened."

"You? Listen? " Renata scoffed. "That's likely."

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes at her as he sonicked the door open. He walked in and Renata pulled Donna in with them.

"Hold on. Does that mean we're locked in?" the ginger frantically asked when the Doctor closed the door and re-locked it.

"Just listen," the Doctor shushed her and started walking again.

"Doctor, she literally _can't_ ," Renata went after him. "Human, remember?"

"Oi, what's that got to do with it?" Donna frowned behind her.

"You can't hear the singing…" Renata trailed off when they came in view with a cage containing several Ood. Straight off they could see these Oods were not the same as the others they had encountered so far. They shyed away from them, huddled together, and were seemingly holding onto something.

"Why do they look so different?" Donna wondered out loud.

"That's because they're natural-born Ood, unprocessed, before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoilt," the Doctor explained. "They go to the cage. And that's their song."

"She can't hear it," Renata repeated.

"I really can't," Donna agreed.

"Well, do you want to?" asked the Doctor.

"Yeah."

"Doctor, you know she doesn't," Renata sighed. "Donna, it's called the song of Captivity. What does that tell you?"

Donna understood it was no happy song, but she still wanted to hear it. She gave a firm nod at the Doctor. The Doctor placed his hands around her head and instructed her.

"Open your mind, that's it. Hear it, Donna. Hear the music."

The song increased in volume gently, but even in low sounds Donna could _feel_ the despondence of the creatures.

"I told you," Renata whispered to the Doctor when they saw Donna's eyes brimming with tears.

"Take it away!" the ginger begged.

"Sure?" the Doctor asked before moving his hands again.

"I can't bear it!" Donna was relieved when the sound became mute. She faced the Ood again. "I'm so sorry…"

"You've got nothing to apologize for," Renata said, also facing the Oods. "You're not the one who's doing this."

"But you two…" the ginger eyed them, "...you can still hear it?"

"All the time," the Doctor confirmed. He pulled out his sonic and began using it on the cage's lock.

At the same time, they heard the door theyd came in through.

"They're breaking in…" Donna meant as motivation for the Doctor to hurry up.

"Ah, let them," he shrugged instead.

"What!?" went both women.

He ignored them and entered the cage. The Ood were trying to get away from him even when there was a wall behind them. He cautiously approached them, showing his hands to mean no harm. "What are you holding? Show me…" the Ood did no such thing so the Doctor continued. "Friends," he motioned to them. "Doctor, Donna, Renata. Friends. Let me see... Look at me... Let me see."

One of the Ood crept to him and eventually opened his palm, revealing a small brain.

Donna paled. "Is that…?"

"Don't ask the question you already know the answer to," Renata swallowed hard.

"It's a brain. A hind brain," the Doctor said, mighty awed. "The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna any more. You'd be like an Ood, a processed Ood."

"So the company... cuts off their brains?" Donna felt mortified.

"And they stitch on the translator," Renata gritted her teeth, growing angrier by the second. "Typical high class humans."

"It's like a lobotomy," Donna shivered. "I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here... I want to go home."

Both the Doctor and Renata were startled by Donna's wishes, but neither of them got the chance to say anything due to the guards finally coming in.

The Doctor hurried to shut the cage. "What you gonna do, then? Arrest me? Lock me up? Throw me in a cage? Well, you're too late! Hah!"

Renata let her head hang down. Could he possibly be less of an idiot?

~ 0 ~

The trio had been taken back to Halpen's office and were promptly handcuffed to a pipe in the room. Renata asked the Doctor if he had any more good ideas on the way, knowing this was something unforeseen for him.

Halpent sat on the edge of his desk and was scrutinizing each member. "Why don't you just come out and say it? FOTO activists!"

"Depends," began Renata, "are they the ones speaking the truth? I'd love some of that action. My headline would be "Evil bastards torture Oods nonstop". Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Halpen glowered. "The Ood were nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice."

"Oh and like the fake rich, nobles you all are, you actually think you're doing what's best," Renata snapped. "Get a clue, will you? I used to be like you, you know, and I can't tell you how free I felt when I saw the truth."

In all this, the Doctor had stared and listened. He didn't exactly know what family Renata belonged to in Gallifrey but now he would definitely ask.

Halpen chuckled at Renata. "We do no harm to the Ood. They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight."

That was where Donna had to intervene to open the man's eyes. "You idiot! They're born with their brains in their hands. Don't you see, that makes them peaceful! They've got to be, cos a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."

"Nice one," both the Doctor and Renata told her then shared a smile with each other.

"The system's worked for 200 years. All we've got is a rogue batch," Halpen informed them, quite happy. "But the infection is about to be sterilised." He moved to a comm. set on his desk. "Mr Kess? How do we stand?"

'Canisters primed, sir. As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks and counting.'

"You're gonna gas them?!" the Doctor gaped.

"Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution from the olden days. Still works."

But it didn't last for long. A new alarm blared all over the building and the office was soon joined by Dr. Ryder and another Ood.

"Oh let me guess, plans not going the way you wanted?" Renata mocked them again.

"Really think mocking them is going to help us?" Donna questioned her. She shrugged and watched as the frantic man came back into the room.

"Change of plan," Halpen went to his desk.

Ryder went after him. "There are no reports of trouble off-world, sir, it's still contained to the Ood-Sphere."

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads!"

"What's happening?" the Doctor strained his neck to try and see through the open door of the office.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor," Halpen huffed. "No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilised, so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."

The threat made Renata gasp, but the Doctor didn't even pay attention to it. He was more focused on something else. "But Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen!"

"What do you mean?" Donna asked him.

"A creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hind brain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else, a third element, am I right?"

Halpen laughed shortly. "And again, so clever!"

"But it's got to be connected to the red-eye, what is it?"

Halpen started for the doors with Ryder and the only patient Ood left. "'It' won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood."

"Come on!" the Doctor pulled on the wrists as if it was all it needed to break.

"They're _handcuffs_ ," Renata shook her head. "You can do all the pulling you want but it's not gonna work. Why can't you use your sonic?"

"I can't reach it!"

"Maybe next time empty your pockets out!"

"This is really not the time!"

Renata sighed but her minor annoyance was short-lived when the door of the office was flung open again to reveal a crowd of red-eyed Oods.

"Now what!?" the blonde frantically pulled on the handcuffs, her earlier words flying out the window.

"Doctor, Donna, Renata, friends!" the Doctor tried his last bit on the creatures who were coming straight for them.

Donna came up with something else. "The circle must be broken!"

Renata looked from one to the other, unsure of who to back up.

"Doctor, Donna, Renata, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Renata friends!"

Renata seriously thought they would die at this point, and she regretted what she'd done so far. Be a bitch, she thought to herself.

"The circle must be broken!"

"Friends, friends, friends!"

But then, just like that, the red-eyed Ood stopped mere inches from them. The eery red died from their eyes and they were back to normal.

"Doctor, Donna, Renata, friends," one of the Ood repeated.

The Doctor laughed out of sheer delight. "Yes! That's us! Friends! Oh, yes!"

Renata was left gaping at the man's streak of luck.

~ 0 ~

Getting to where Halpen and Ryder were didn't turn out to be as difficult as one would think thanks to the remaining Ood, Sigma, who took them straight to the building separate from the entire landscape. They reached the warehouse (15) in time since the two men had decided that blowing everything up was the right call to make. However, there was one not-so-small detail that put the group off for a second.

"A...brain," Donna was sure she could not prepare for much more. It'd only been a day and she was sure she'd seen pretty much everything now.

Renata cautiously inched closer to the rails overlooking the large brain. "The Ood Brain…" she looked up.

"Now it all makes sense, that's the missing link, the third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hind brain, and this - the telepathic center," the Doctor went over to where Renata stood and stole a glance. "It's a shared mind, connecting all the Ood in song."

"Cargo," Halpen appeared with a gun in hand, aimed at the three.

Renata rolled her eyes. "Believe me that one single gun will not do us much harm."

Halpen ignored her and kept aim. "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business, much more manageable, without livestock."

"He's mined the area," Ryder appeared behind Halpen, looking far more concerned than the boss.

Donna's eyes widened in alarm. "They're gonna kill it?:

"They found that...thing centuries ago beneath the Northern Glacier," Halpen nodded to the brain beside them.

"Those pylons," the Doctor gazed at the electrical barrier surrounding the brain.

"In a circle," Renata sighed once she understood the famous line the Ood had been repeating over and over since they arrived.

"The circle must be broken," Donna, too, understood.

"Damping the telepathic field. Stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years," the Doctor frowned.

"How could you do that?" Renata demanded from Halpen. "That's completely barbaric."

"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better," Halpen briefly moved the gun towards the Ood.

"My place is at your side, sir," Ood Sigma moved over to the man's side.

"Ha-ha! Still subservient. Good Ood," Halpen laughed.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna had come to stand beside Renata by the rails. She couldn't look at the brain too much without feeling sick.

"They've had to adapt, Donna," Renata muttered. "God knows everyone has to in order to survive. For the Ood it's just taken some centuries."

"But the process was too slow," Ryder suddenly spoke with some new determination in his words. "Had to be accelerated. You should never give me access to those controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends Of The Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

Halpen settled a straight face on the man. He didn't appear to be so worried. "Yes, yes you did." He flashed a brief smile then swiftly pushed Ryder over the balustrade.

Donna gasped loudly while the two Time Lords in front of her stared in shock.

"You... murdered him!" the ginger exclaimed.

"Very observant, Ginger," Halpen dismissively glanced at her. "Now, then... can't say I've ever shot anyone before. Can't say I'm gonna like it. But it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still…"

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Ood Sigma asked behind him.

"I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."

Sigma went around to stand between Halpen and the Doctor. "Please have a drink, sir."

"If... If you're going to stand in their way, I'll shoot you too!"

"Please have a drink sir."

Halpen suddenly lowered the gun as a new sensation starting spurring within. "Have have you... poisoned me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir."

"So what exactly is that stuff you just gave him?" Renata wasn't hiding her smirk at all.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound, ma'am."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Halpen screeched.

Donna studied her two friends quite closely. Renata looked ready to laugh, clearly happy to see whatever was going to happen. Meanwhile, the Doctor was accepting yet surprised.

"What's happening!?" Halpen continued to demand. "Tell me!"

"Funny thing, the subconscious," the Doctor began with a slowness. "Takes all sorts of shapes. Came out in the red-eye as revenge. Came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then, there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy, focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?"

Halpen reached a hand to his hair and was terrified when he brought down another bunch of hair. "What have you done?" he glared at Ood Sigma.

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood Brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it?" the Doctor asked just slightly quieter. "Listen…"

Halpen began to cough like he was choking. "What have you...? I'm...not...!" he dropped the gun to the ground and grasped his head. He peeled his skin off like it had been a mask all along. Underneath was an Ood face structure with tenticles spilling from his mouth.

Donna's mouth fell open in utter shock. "They... They turned him into an Ood?!"

Renata tilted her head at Halpen….or the Ood now. "Hm, it fits."

"He's an Ood…." Donna rubbed her eyes.

"Yes, Donna, we noticed. We were there."

"He has become Oodkind. And we will take care of him," Sigma informed the trio.

"I expect you will," Renata smiled proudly.

"It's weird, being with you two, I can't tell what's right and what's wrong any more," Donna said, her eyes blue eyes flickering from the Doctor who was contemplative to Renata who was utterly smug about the whole ordeal. Which was right?

"It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen," the Doctor said. When the detonators began to frantically beep, the were reminded of the looming events coming to them. "Ooh!" the Doctor rushed to the controls and switched it all off. "That's better. And now... Sigma, would you allow me the honor?"

"It is yours, Doctor," the Ood let him have it.

The Doctor excitedly reached for the lever in control of the electric field. "Oh, yes! Stifled for 200 years, but not any more. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"

And just a mere second later, everyone was able to hear the beautiful, joyous song in the air.

~ 0 ~

The trio of travelers stood before the TARDIS with Ood Sigma across them. He was surrounded by a couple more Oods, all free of the red eyes.

"The message has gone out. That song resonated across the galaxies, everyone heard it. Everyone knows," the Doctor told them, happy to know the servitude of the Ood was all over. "The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."

"Just please...don't create classes," Renata said with a little smile.

"We thank you," Sigma said to the trio. "Doctor, Donna, Renata. Friends of Oodkind. And what of you now, will you stay? There is room in the song for you."

"Oh, I've... we've sort of got a song of our own, thanks," the Doctor gave a polite smile in return.

"I think your songs must end soon."

That wiped off the Doctor's smile and even made Renata pause.

"What...what does that mean?" the blonde Time Lady inquired quietly. Her stomach gave a jolt and it wasn't the good kind.

"Every song must end."

The Doctor didn't want to focus on something that probably was something generic. He glanced at the quiet Donna curiously. "Erm, what about you? You still want to go home?"

Donna shook her head, seeming nothing like the woman earlier. "No. Definitely not."

"Then we'll be off," the Doctor said to the Ood and pushed open the TARDIS doors for the women.

"Take this song with you," Ood Sigma raised his palms and had the Ood behind him do the same.

"We will," Renata smiled graciously at them. "Always."

"And know this, Doctor Donna. You will never be forgotten," Ood Sigma said as the trio started leaving. "Our children will sing of the Doctor Donna, and our children's children. And the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."

"Should I be offended they're not including me?" Renata quietly asked as they went inside.

"Nah," the Doctor waved her off and focused on getting them out of there.

~ 0 ~

Renata had once again provided a nice dinner but she herself had hardly touched much of her food. She passed it off as a consequence of what they'd seen that day, and while Donna accepted the excuse since she herself was having trouble getting passed it, the Doctor silently told himself it was a lie.

Renata wished Donna a peaceful night and assured her that she could take care of the kitchen clean up. She just couldn't exactly get rid of the Doctor. "You really don't have to…" she sighed as the Doctor dumped the dirty dishes into the kitchen.

"I know how to clean up," the Time Lord responded and gestured as he picked up another couple of cups.

"Yeah, but...making dinner is _my_ idea," Renata put a hand over her chest. "I know you don't care about it. Let me clean up my ideas."

"Now who says I don't like it?" the Doctor turned back from the sink with a light frown on his face.

"You're not much for routines. I mean, isn't that why you live this life style? Because it's spontaneous?"

"Well, yeah, but...I like when you bring in a little of home," he smiled at her so softly that for a moment Renata let her hearts skip beats as much as they liked.

When she caught herself, she shook her head and focused on cleaning up the rest of the table. The Doctor silently watched her make a trip to the sink and return to the table to get the remaining crumbs off it. He debated on his next words but...he felt it right.

"I left Gallifrey for a couple reasons," his words made Renata freeze but she didn't face him yet. She stared hard at the piece of bread left on the table. "It was a culmination of things. When I was younger, before I married, I met this...this girl...and…" it was a struggle for him to speak the words he had never spoken to anyone before. But that was the thing, there was no one else left anymore. He couldn't hurt the dead. "It didn't work out."

Renata felt a lump in her throat. Her hands were shaking a bit so she quickly put them down on the table before the Doctor would see them. "I-I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, so was I," the Doctor sighed. "She was wonderful. But she lived in another world and...we were young, like I said. But I guess I never really got over her. There were strives in my marriage and then...I never really found a job that I liked. Gallifrey lifestyles weren't for me."

Renata turned around to face him, admiring him for actually speaking up. She doubted he'd ever told anyone that. "Thank you for telling me that. I wouldn't have forced it out of you, though."

"I know, but we want to get to know each other," the Doctor shrugged.

"Well thank you," Renata crossed her arms and nodded. "I guess I owe you an answer now, huh?" A sly smile spread across the Doctor's face, making her chuckle. "What did you want to know?"

Now the Doctor had watched her all day and had made his question up. "Whose family did you belong to?"

Renata's eyes widened slightly and that was only because she caught her reaction in time. _Oh God_. Giving up her family name would be giving up her identity as Zuriah...as Gala. "I, um...you know, I was married into the Master's family...um..."

"Well, yes, but I meant _your_ family. Do you not feel comfortable sharing that?" the Doctor was beginning to assume that was the problem since Renata's face had suddenly gone pale.

"My family, um...I'm not exactly proud of them, nor myself actually," Renata figured she could go around the answer without actually lying. "We were on top of society. Like...noblemen, I guess," she rolled her eyes. "I was so naive back then, I actually thought we were good people. Then I realized how corrupt the class was. It's not that I hate my family it's just...we could have done so much better. We could have cared a little bit less about ourselves and a little more about other people."

"I'm sure you cared for many people," the Doctor's certainty was surprising for Renata since he technically knew very little of her. "You don't walk away from problems."

"What do you mean? I try to get you to go to the Shadow Proclamation all the time," she gave him a small smile. "I could just be selfish in secret."

"Nah, not you," the Doctor pointed a finger at her with a big grin on his face. "You've been caring for people ever since I met you. The Cartwright children, Elena, Joan, Martha... _me_." Renata automatically laughed and became embarrassed when she caught herself. "Yeah, you, Renata...I don't think you could ever walk away from someone in need. You're the best person I know."

Renata fought hard against the blush on her face, so when she lost she turned away and continued to clean up. She would like to think that what the Doctor said about her was true, but she'd come to terms a long time ago that she wasn't a good person.


	10. UNIT Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martha Jones brings Renata and the Doctor back to Earth for mystery. With their catch up, Martha presses Renata about her secret she has yet to tell the Doctor.

Donna laughed with delight as the TARDIS lurched to the left because _she_ caused it to. "I can't believe I'm doing this!" her hands gripped some of the console controls.

Meanwhile, the Doctor stood very close behind, intently watching the human drive his ship. "No, neither can I," he mumbled. He didn't really remember how Donna got him to agree to try and drive the TARDIS, but right now he was really regretting it.

"I can't believe she's actually _understanding_ ," Renata voiced from the rails. She was gripping the rails but gracefully standing on her feet despite the messy driving.

"Oi," Donna briefly stopped her smiling to mock-glare at the blonde.

"I've just never seen a human do it," Renata shrugged. She didn't remember Martha being capable of driving the TARDIS...but then again she never really asked.

"Can you do it?" Donna suddenly questioned her. Since she arrived to the TARDIS, she'd only seen the Doctor at the console. Renata usually lingered around but she never actually touched the console.

"Well of course I can, but this isn't my TARDIS."

Donna gaped and quickly redirected her gaze to the Doctor, her eyes accusing him but The Time Lord raised his hands in defense. "I told her it was, she's just being Renata again!"

"What - _hey_!" the Time Lady shot the Doctor a frown.

Donna resolved that sounded like Renata and didn't press further. Whatever those two agreed on, she would let it be. She pulled on a lever the Doctor indicated earlier would be like a blinker sort of thing.

"Oh careful!" the Doctor exclaimed. He pulled out a mallet from underneath and proceeded to hit the console with it.

Renata's mouth opened in shock at the terrible driving skills of him...and yet, it was definitely something he would do.

"Left hand down! Left hand down!" the Doctor hurriedly motioned Donna to do as he said. The ginger lunged to the side to reach the control. "Getting a bit too close to the 1980s!"

"What am I gonna do?" Donna rolled her eyes. "Put a dent in 'em?" The Doctor was going to make a comeback when cellphone ringtone went off. Donna, bemused, looked around for the source of it. "Is that a phone?"

Even Renata was curious of it. She left the rails and walked to the two just as the Doctor took out a cellphone, though as soon as she saw the phone she recognized it as Martha's.

"You've got a mobile? Since when?" Donna blinked at the actual human cellphone.

"It's not ours," Renata mumbled, her eyes glued to the Doctor as he answered the phone. Only one person - alright, maybe two if she included Jack - had that number.

"Hello?"

_"Doctor? It's Martha, and I'm bringing you back to Earth!"_

~ 0 ~

The news that Martha Jones needed their help was exciting...and for Renata a bit worrisome. She'd neglected to give Martha a call since her departure from the TARDIS. Humans were all about close contact and whatnot and Renata hadn't really learned that yet. She didn't exactly have friends per say, so it was still new. Still, the Doctor was mighty excited to see an old friend and didn't lag on getting to Earth at the right time.

Martha Jones stood just a couple feet from the TARDIS when it materialized in the alley she'd given coordinates to. She laughed when the Doctor poked his head out from the open door and waved.

"Martha Jones!" he exclaimed happily and rushed to meet her in a hug,

"Doctor!"

"You haven't changed a bit!"

"Neither have you!"

Renata came out next with Donna, the ginger being just a little nervous of meeting a previous companion. She hadn't really bothered to ask about who traveled before her but she'd heard plenty from the Doctor.

Martha pulled from the Doctor and caught site of Renata. "And you haven't changed either," she eyed the blonde with a significant look that made Renata internally shake. "I'm digging the pants, though. Still all professional and whatnot?"

Renata had chosen a pair of dark, loose, beige pants with a slightly darker cream-colored blouse. The Time Lady rolled her eyes but she was smiling wider than ever, at least wider than Donna had ever seen. Renata was a very reclusive woman.

Renata walked forwards to greet Martha properly. "It's nice to see you too, Martha."

Martha hugged Renata tightly. Oh, she'd really missed Renata! Even if half of their time was spent bickering, she felt like they'd gotten to a real best friend type of stage. "It really is. Have things changed?" she pulled away and stared at both aliens questionably.

"What has?" the Doctor cluelessly asked, making Martha redirect her gaze to the blonde instead.

"Seriously?"

"She means have I stopped shouting at you for kidnapping me," Renata quickly supplied and called for Donna. Topics needed to be changed and they needed to be changed fast!

"Should have known. Didn't take you long to replace me then," Martha said with a polite smile for Donna.

The Doctor turned his head from one woman to the next. "Now, don't start fighting. Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight, can't bear fighting."

"You wish," Donna scoffed and shook Martha's hand. "I've heard all about you. He talks about you all the time. I'd say Renata too but she barely talks."

"Really?" Martha once again flashed a significant smile at the woman in question. "You just have to find the right words to get her to open up. Took me a whole year to crack her."

"Okay," Renata purposely talked loud. "So it's established we've talked about you to Donna. But really I'm more interested in knowing who gave you that ring?" she pointed at the engagement ring sitting on Martha's hand.

"What!?" the Doctor immediately examined Martha's hands until he found the ring. "You're engaged!? To who!?"

"Doctor, don't be rude," Renata pulled his hands off Martha's.

Martha laughed. "Tom. That Tom Milligan. He's in pediatrics. Working out in Africa right now, and yes, I know. I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it."

"Is he skinny?" Donna wondered.

"No," Martha said, bobbing her head while she thought. "He's sort of... strong."

" _He_ -" Donna jerked a thumb at the Doctor, "-is too skinny for words! You give him a hug, you get a paper cut."

Renata covered her smile behind a hand. Over 900 years and she never got a good jab like that. Donna had a _gift_.

"Oh, I'd rather you were fighting," the Doctor muttered.

"Speaking of which…" Martha started backtracking and listened to an incoming transmission from her walkie-talkie.

_'Dr Jones, report to base please. Over.'_

"This is Dr. Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go!" she motioned for the trio to follow her.

They discovered they were just by a factory in the middle of a take over by UNIT.

"What...is this…?" Donna's eyebrows shot up.

"Hold on, is this the Unified Intelligence Taskforce?" Renata blinked when she got the jist of the atmosphere. Many soldiers were coming in and out of the factory while others attended to the employees outside. "I remember this being one of the departments the Master wanted to shut down. I just never understood what they were for."

"Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go!" Martha continued to order over the walkie-talkie. "Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta."

"What are you searching for?" the Doctor asked her when she got a free moment.

"Illegal aliens." The woman made a motion to wait for her a second while she rushed off.

Renata's face was that of utter offence. " _Well_ ," she huffed.

"B section mobilized! E section, F section, on my command!"

"Is that what you did to her?" Donna asked the two aliens beside her. "Turn her into a soldier?"

Renata didn't quite like the scene either but she was sure the Doctor was having a harder time accepting it. A short while later, Martha returned to them in a much calmer state. Things had calmed around the factory as more employees were thoroughly checked over and the facility was decreed safe for the moment.

"And you're qualified now? You're a proper doctor," the Doctor gazed at Martha's official tag on her uniform.

"UNIT rushed it through given my experience in the field," Martha nodded them to follow her again. "Here we go. We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."

"And yet I don't think the feeling is mutual," Renata gazed at the several employees giving them, specifically her, weird looks. "Martha, is it me or do a lot of people here not seem to like me?"

Martha gave an apologetic smile and led them into a long truck serving as another military office. "Operation Blue Sky complete, sir. Thanks for letting me take the lead. And, this is the Doctor. Doctor, Colonel Mace."

Mace immediately saluted. "Sir!"

"Oh, don't salute…" the Doctor wondered how many times that was going to happen over the course of the day.

"Well, it's an honor, sir! I've read all the files on you and, technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."

"No, wait, you used to _work_ for them?" Renata pulled the Doctor by the arm to fully understand. She briefly wondered if this was a different Doctor than the last one she'd met. Sure, regeneration sometimes did cause strange behavioral differences but this was too much.

"Yeah, long time ago. Back in the 70s. Or was it the 80s? But it was all a bit more homespun back then."

"Times have changed, sir," Mace said before Renata could respond.

"Yeah, that's enough of the 'sir'," the Doctor pleaded with the man.

"Doctor, you actually worked for this place?" Renata was still stuck on that idea and could barely keep her smile from turning into a laugh. "You couldn't hold down a job on Gallifrey but you decided to work for humans?"

"No need to sound so condescending," Donna huffed at her.

"Ah, so you're still the same," Martha playfully shook her head. "Ren, seriously." Renata raised her hands to show she was just asking things in general. Martha smiled at her friend, actually missing her, and then examined to the Doctor for their changes. "Doctor, you've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant. We've got massive funding from the United Nations. All in the name of homeworld security."

"A modern UNIT for a modern world," Mace agreed.

Donna wasn't seeing much promise based on what was going on outside. "What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers? In the streets, in broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute."

Mace was taken aback but nonetheless saluted her. "Ma'am."

"And how about one for the old fashioned blonde?"

"Hey!" the blonde in question exclaimed.

"Renata."

Mace eyed Renata with a new light that neither Renata nor the Doctor liked.

"Can I help you?" Renata placed a hand on her hip. Her high poiny tail swished with her movement.

"You were part of Saxon's cabinet."

"Oh," Renata wasn't expecting that but in retrospect she should have been more prepared for this. While no one remembered the year that never was of the Master's, they still remembered Saxon and his work in the country. It, unfortunately, included her.

"You were her sister-"

"Sister in law," Renata made sure to clarify. "And even though you can't remember I command some respect for the woman who helped save your planet. _Again_."

The Doctor made an awkward cough but Martha just barely contained her smile. That was Renata alright.

"She really is on our side, sir," Martha was able to say professionally.

"Yeah…" the Doctor eyed the blonde woman and hoped she wouldn't say more. "Now tell us, what's going on in the factory?"

"Yesterday 52 people died in identical circumstances, right across the world, in 11 different time zones. 5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China."

"You mean they died simultaneously?"

"Exactly. 52 deaths at the exact same moment, worldwide."

"How did they die?"

"They were all inside their cars."

"Their cars?" Renata repeated, her eyes flickering to Martha for some additional information.

"They were poisoned," the woman declared. "I checked the biopsies, no toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."

"Okay, so what do the cars have in common?" asked the Doctor.

"Completely different makes. They're all fitted with ATMOS. And _that_ -" Martha nodded to the building, "-is the ATMOS factory."

"What's ATMOS?" both Time Lords were left to wonder.

Donna was almost bewildered she knew something they didn't. "Oh, come on. Even I know that. Everyone's got ATMOS!"

Martha smiled at the woman and gestured to start following her and Mace into the factory. "Stands for Atmospheric Omission System. Fit ATMOS in your car, reduces CO2 emissions to zero."

"Zero?" No carbon at all?" the Doctor gaped.

"Oh yes. Sat-nav and 20 quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend," Donna added. "Bargain!"

"So they really want humans to purchase it," Renata concluded.

"And this is where they make it, Doctor," Mace gestured to the crowded building. Renata shot the man a look from behind for ignoring her on purpose. "Shipping worldwide. 17 factories across the globe, but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

"And you think ATMOS is alien?" the Doctor asked but was almost certain it probably was.

"It's our job to investigate that possibility." Mace led them into a small office. "And here it is, laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"I'm sorry but isn't there some security before you start selling worldwide?" Renata asked Martha directly since Mace seemed adamant to ignore her presence.

"Yes, and we checked," Martha assured her.

"And you found nothing?"

"Yeah," Martha said, clearly disappointed. "That's why I thought we needed an expert."

"Really, who'd you get?" the Doctor even took a look around the room in case they'd missed this 'expert'.

Renata stared at him in genuine concern. "Are you that oblivious?" she whispered.

"You've known him for centuries, you should know," Martha spoke so quietly that thankfully only Renata heard her. The blonde nudged her to stay quiet.

"Oh they meant me?" the Doctor grinned at the revelation.

Donna shook her head at him. "OK, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?"

"A very good question," Renata nodded.

"Maybe they want to help. Get rid of pollution and stuff."

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth? 800 million," the Doctor began to make the calculations and grew quiet. "Imagine that. If you could control them, you'd have 800 million weapons."

"Exactly why we needed you," Mace looked only at the Doctor. "Wait a moment please, we'd like for you to examine an ATMOS device as a sample." He nodded at Martha to stay put and walked out.

"Okay, your boss doesn't like me," Renata crossed her arms. She shouldn't be so surprised and honestly, what's it to her if some human didn't like her anyways?

"I didn't think you cared," Martha smirked and laughed a bit.

"I don't," Renata argued, but there was something in her tone that contrasted her statement. "I just don't like being not liked for the wrong reasons."

"How do you mean?" Donna asked, being the only one not in the know of Renata's family.

"She was Saxon's actual sister-in-law and she was in his department for the year he was in office," Martha eyed her fora second. "You didn't know that?"

Donna's eyebrows raised together and directed a rather annoyed look to Renata. "No. I don't actually know much about you…"

Renata sighed. "It's better that way. But this man over here thinks I'm probably still evil. Watch out world, I'm claiming world domination."

Donna laughed suddenly. "Don't make me laugh. What are you going to do? Cook them a big ole meal to give them heart burn?"

Martha covered her mouth so as to not laugh so loudly.

Renata glared at them both and marched to where the Doctor was. "Your companions are rude!"

"Oh, so they're _my_ companions when they're against you but it's dandy when they go against me," the Doctor smirked at her.

"Do something," the blonde ordered yet sounded more like a plead. The Doctor just smiled at her.

Donna decided to have a look around the building herself, and after Renata forcing her to promise that she would not go far, she left. Eventually, Mace returned with the promised ATMOS device. He positioned it on the table and stepped back to let the Doctor inspect it.

"Ionising nano membrane carbon dioxide converter - which means that ATMOS works," the Doctor passed the sonic all over the features of the device. "Filters the CO2 at a molecular level."

"We know all that, but what's its origin? Is it alien?" Mace bent closer to the device along with the Doctor.

"No. Decades ahead of its time," the Doctor gave the man a certain glance. "Look, d'you mind, could you stand back a bit?"

"Sorry, have I done something wrong?"

"You're carrying a gun. I don't like people with guns hanging around me, all right?"

Mace gave a nod, although it clearly offended him. "If you insist." He left the room once more.

"Tetchy," Martha remarked.

"Well deserved," Renata huffed.

"I didn't do it for you!"

"I'll take it either way!"

"He's a good man!" Martha stopped them both before they argued.

"People with guns are usually the enemy in my books. You seem quite at home," the Doctor remarked and stunned Martha for a moment.

"If anyone got me used to fight it's you."

The Doctor paused his scanning to frown. "Oh, right, so it's my fault."

"Well, you got me the job! Besides, look at me. Am I carrying a gun?"

"He would've probably smelled it on you," Renata smirked.

Martha lightly smiled. "It's all right for you. You can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got to work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."

Despite it all, the Doctor smiled. " Yeah? That's more like Martha Jones."

Martha smiled back. "I learned from the best."

"It really is impressive what you've accomplished in so little time," Renata honestly praised the woman. It made her guilty because she was only just now learning what Martha had been up to since she left the TARDIS. She really should pick up the phone once in a while.

"Thanks," Martha intently looked from one alien to the other, not so subtle as was her attempt. "So...what have you two accomplished…together…?"

Renata stiffened but the Doctor, of course, didn't get the memo. "Oh, nothing much. We went to Pompeii...oh, and we also met some Ood…"

"Same old business," Renata eyed Martha to stay quiet.

"Oi, you lot!" Donna walked in with a silver folder in hand. Renata had never loved Donna so much than at that moment. "All your storm troopers and your sonics... You're rubbish! Should've come with me."

"Why, where have you been?" the Doctor curiously asked.

"Personnel!" Donna waved the file. "That's where the weird stuff's happening - in the paperwork. Cos I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way round an office blindfold, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file."

"And what exactly is missing from that file?" Renata made a gesture at it.

"Sick days. There aren't any," Donna opened the file and turned it over for the others to see. "Hundreds of people working here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip, nothing. Not ever! They don't get ill. You've been checking out the building - should've been checking out the workforce!"

"I can see why they like you," Martha smiled at the ginger woman. "You are good!"

"Super temp!" Donna laughed.

"We'll need to set up a medical post," Martha concluded and started to head out. "Renata? Donna? Want to give me a hand?"

Renata agreed but warned the Doctor not to get into trouble. He was intending on finding Mace again to learn more of ATMOS.

Martha took them to another solitary room and brought along a stack of binders for them to go through. They needed to be sure of what they were dealing with and for that they needed to see the profile of the employees.

"These people look completely normal," Renata boredly passed one page after the other. "Just boring old humans."

Martha rolled her eyes at the woman, not taking the statement with offence. Donna, on the other hand, looked up from her own binder and glared at Renata until the blonde noticed.

"What?"

"I don't know who's more clueless about being rude, you or the Doctor."

"I'm not that bad," Renata furrowed her brow but then, panicking, she looked to Martha for some back up. "Am I?"

Martha smiled. "It's really okay."

Renata blinked and stared down at her binder. Donna ended up smiling and returned to her work, but she couldn't exactly focus like she was supposed to.

"Do you think I should warn my Mum?" she found herself asking out loud. Both Martha and Renata stopped their work to see the ginger. "About the ATMOS in her car?"

"Better safe than sorry," Martha meant as comfort.

"I'll give her a call," Donna got up from her chair.

"Donna," Martha stopped her just before she could leave. "Do they know where you are? Your family. I mean that you're travelling with the Doctor?"

"Not really," Donna started to realize that her grandfather had only seen her literally flying off in the sky. "Although... My granddad sorta waved us off. I didn't have time to explain."

Martha figured as much and sighed. "You just left him behind?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't tell my family, kept it all so secret. And it almost destroyed them."

"In what way?"

"Saxon," Renata bitterly said from her seat.

"They ended up imprisoned. They were tortured," Martha explained better. "My mom. My dad. My sister. It wasn't the Doctor's fault, but... you need to be careful. Cos you know the Doctor. He's wonderful. He's brilliant. But he's like fire. Stand too close and people get burnt."

Renata hated that Martha was so right, and she couldn't stop herself from defending the man. "He doesn't mean to." Martha smiled warmly at her. "He's just...he tries to help as many people as he can in his way and...people unfortunately sometimes get hurt."

Donna took the words with serious degree. "Like you, then? In a way."

Renata stiffened and tilted her head at Donna. "How so? I've only just started travelling too."

"You're not so much with your actions but your words are...quite frankly, blunt and a bit rude."

Renata opened her mouth to defend herself but...she understood she had that nasty habit of insulting without realizing it. "I'm sorry if I've ever offended you, I-"

Donna chuckled lightly. "You're like the Doctor in that aspect. You're so blunt, you...say things without thinking about them."

"I'm sorry," Renata said quietly, sighing. "I've got a lot to learn still."

"We can help," Donna promised. "But it would be nice to speak to you as actual friends."

"I don't know how to be friends," Renata admitted and gestured to Martha as an example. "I hated her in the beginning. Like... _despised_ her."

Donna blinked and glanced at Martha to see what the woman had to say in that aspect. "Oh yeah," Martha nodded. "Serious hatred there. It took me a year to crack that wall. Also took me a year to get over _my_ hatred for her." Renata smiled.

"Well pass me the notes so that I can do the same and get her to _talk_ ," Donna enunciated the last word slowly for Renata. "I can't shut the Doctor up and I can't get her to open her mouth. Polar opposites."

"And you know what they say about 'opposites'..." Martha smirked.

"Martha!" Renata snapped instantly.

Donna didn't pay much attention to them and went ahead to go find the Doctor. Renata sighed loudly and shut her binder before standing from her chair.

"Martha I would appreciate if you kept your childish jabs at my non-existent love life out of your mouth."

"I can't believe you still haven't told the Doctor anything," Martha said, sounding a bit offended her words hadn't left a mark on Renata. "Ren, are you serious?"

"It's not easy," Renata argued and looked past Martha to the open door in case anyone walked by. "We just started opening up about our past. He told me...about a relationship that didn't work out with a girl when he was young."

Martha's mouth opened up and could not help from laughing a bit. "So he still thinks about the other you?"

"No! I...I don't know," Renata confessed. "But it doesn't matter. That was centuries ago. The past stays in the past. Please."

"Okay," Martha raised her hands and walked up to Renata. "So we leave the past in the past, but...that doesn't mean you guys can't start a new relationship."

"There _is_ no relationship," Renata moved around the table. "He's an idiot who loves to break the rules and I'm basically your average stickler who doesn't know how to have fun."

"And yet this somehow worked before."

Renata shook her head and decided to go find the Doctor too. Maybe with luck he hadn't yet left. She caught up with Donna who was just telling the Doctor wanted to leave as well.

The Doctor took it in a completely different way, Renata just knew by his clueless face. "...I had so many places I had wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the Lightning Skies of Cotter Palluni's World, Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko... Thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble, it's been brilliant. You've... you've saved my life in so many ways. You're...you're just popping home for a visit, that's what you mean."

"You dumbo!" Donna laughed in his face.

"And then you're coming back," the Doctor was of course embarrassed.

"Know what you are? A great big outer-space dunce!"

Renata came up to the two with a smile bordering a laugh. "I can't believe you actually just did that."

"Yeah," the Doctor sighed.

"Ready when you are, sir," a younger man stopped by them.

"Oh, you made a new friend, then?" Renata eyed the young soldier. "What's your name, son?"

"Ross, ma'am."

"Where are we going?" Renata returned her attention to the Doctor. "Because I'm coming with you lest we want more mistakes."

"Wouldn't dream of leaving you behind," the Doctor gestured her and Donna to follow Ross.

"Right, because then you would kidnap me again."

~ 0 ~

After dropping Donna off at her house, the two aliens continued on their way towards 'Rattigan Academy' which led to Renata asking the same questions the Doctor asked Mace before leaving. She was mighty surprised to find that an 18 year old was a millionaire and the very creator of ATMOS. She was even more surprised to see the grand building serving as the academy. It looked...classy.

The trio headed up to the front entrance where Luke Rattigan himself was waiting for them. He didn't look pleased of their presence.

"Beautiful place," Renata spoke up, not quite sure what to say. Either way they would definitely not make a good impression on the young man.

"Is it PE? I wouldn't mind a kick around, I've got my chaps on!" the Doctor grinned but it still made no effect on Luke.

"I suppose you're the Doctor?" Luke eyed the Time Lord up and down.

"Hello!" the Doctor waved, much to cheery Renata thought.

"Your commanding officer phoned ahead."

"And conveniently left me out," Renata muttered before speaking louder. "I'm Renata, but I doubt you care. Oh, and this is our new friend, Ross," she made a gesture to Ross behind them.

"Afternoon, sir," Ross gave the commanding greeting.

"Let's have a look then!" the Doctor started running up the steps, much to Renata's dismay.

"Doc-"

"I can smell genius!... In a good way!"

Renata sighed and followed him in along with Ross. For the Doctor, it barely seemed like a professional visit. He was far too excited over the things the students were and had created. He ran right into one room that was currently full of working students.

"Oh, now! That's clever, look!" he pulled out his glasses and examined a small device two students were currently working on.

"Doctor, leave them alone," Renata gently called. "You'll interrupt their focus."

Her words went right over his head. "Look, Renata, a single molecule fabric! How thin is it!"

Renata wasn't sure what he was talking about but nonetheless started walking around. She didn't go poking her nose into the students' work like the Doctor but she did observe a few things out of place.

"Gravity simulators!" the Doctor zoomed past her to the last desk in the class. "Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel constructs! Haha! This is brilliant! Do you know, with equipment like this you could... oh, I don't know, move to another planet or something?"

Renata, too, was finding the specific work suspicious. What would humans possibly want with these devices? More importantly, who taught it to them?

"If only that was possible," Luke kept calm about the two intruders.

"If only that were possible." The Doctor's playfulness vanished into thin air. He pulled off his glasses and settled a dark look on Luke. "Conditional clause."

Renata observed the demeanor change in Luke. It almost appeared as if he was about to hit the Doctor. She cleared her throat and started back to them. "We should probably talk elsewhere. These students are far too polite to tell us we're being loud." She gave a sharp look at Luke to get them moving.

The young man turned away and started heading out. He brought them into a large room with fancy decorations, but what really took the Doctor and Renata away was the obvious teleporter set at the left. However, they were sure it was only obvious to themselves and Luke. Anyone else would not see it.

"You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that," Luke remarked.

"I don't quite like the insult," Renata scowled. "Especially since it's a job people like him-" she nodded to Ross, "-do every day to keep you and the others safe."

Luke seemed only to get more annoyed by her. He especially didn't like it when the Doctor started getting too close to the teleporter. "What exactly do you want?"

"I was just thinking, what a responsible eighteen year old. Inventing zero carbon cars? Saving the world…" the Doctor gave a brief glance at the young man.

"Takes a man with vision," was all Luke had to say.

"Mmmm, blinking vision. Cos ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol, end result: the oil's gonna run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse-"

Luke jumped in for an apparent reason with a more frantic attitude. "Yeah, see, that's a tautology. You can't say 'ATMOS system' since it stands for 'atmospheric emissions system'. So you're just saying 'atmospheric emissions system system' d'you see, Mr Conditional Clause?"

Renata blinked. "Oh, I had students like you. How long has it been since anyone said 'no' to you?"

"Not easy, is it?" the Doctor strode up to Luke. "Being clever. You look at the world and you connect things. Random things. And think, 'why can't anyone else see it?' The rest of the world is so slow. And you're all on your own."

The Doctor was hitting home and it was evident on Luke's face. "I know."

"But not with this!" the Doctor whipped out the small ATMOS device he'd carried in from the factory. "Cos there's no way you invented this thing single handed. I mean, it might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the middle ages." He threw it at Ross who swiftly caught it. "No, no, I'll tell you what it's like! It's like finding this in the middle of someones front room." He opened his arms at the teleporter, and Renata panicked knowing what he was planning on doing. "Albeit it's a very big front room."

"And what is it?" Ross eyed the teleporter without a clue.

"Yeah, just looks like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things, they just say 'oh, it's a thing'."

"Doctor-" Renata called but Luke spoke louder.

"Leave it alone!"

"Me, I make these connections. And this, to me, looks like…" he stepped inside, "a teleport pod."

"No!" Renata groaned when he pressed the button activating the teleporter.

"Where did he go!?" Ross frantically asked.

Renata wasn't worried. She was _annoyed_ , but not worried. "Luke you have one minute to tell me where the hell that thing leads to."

"And if I don't?" Luke hid his own concern with a snarl, but Renata proved she did indeed once upon a time have students like him.

She gestured to the desk near them and picked up a beautiful trinket that looked valuable. She dropped it to the floor and with a straight face watched as Luke nearly had a panic attack. "Shall we try that again?"

"Are you crazy!?"

"No, I'm just terribly upset when young boys do what they please without regard for others. _Talk_."

But before Luke could speak again, the Doctor flashed into the room again. He came out in a speedy run. "Renata, Ross, get out!"

"What!? Why!?" the blonde woman demanded but Ross was already pulling her out of the room.

"Luke, you've got to come with me!" the Doctor turned around just as a Sontaran alien - which looked more like a potato - flashed into the teleporter.

"A Sontaran?" Renata blinked. "What are _Sontarans_ doing on Earth?"

The Doctor disabled the telelporter with his sonic in case any more of the Sontarans get the idea to follow. "Sontaran! That's your name, isn't it? You're a Sontaran. How did I know that, ay? Fascinating isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping me alive?"

Ross took aim at the Sontaran. "I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce."

"Yeah, that's probably not going to work," Renata slowly pushed the gun down.

"Cordolaine signal, am I right? Copper excitation stopping the bullets," the Doctor knew the Sontarans wouldn't ever be at a disadvantage for the humans' guns.

"How do you know so much?" the Sontaran commanded to know but then went ahead and re-asked the question to Luke. "Who is he?"

"He didn't give his name," Luke said then glared at Renata. "But she did." The blonde glared right back. "Renata, right?"

The Doctor wasn't sure when those two had become clear enemies but he wasn't going to let the Sontarans figure anything out about Renata. Then again, he didn't know much about her either. It still irked him. "This isn't typical Sontaran behavior, is it? Hiding! Using teenagers, stopping bullets?A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity! Shame on you!"

His game worked well. The Sontaran took might offence. "You dishonor me, sir!"

"Yeah, then show yourself!

"I will look into my enemy's eyes!" the Sontaran took off his helmet to reveal a dome-shaped head underneath.

Ross gaped at the sight of the petite alien. "Oh my God…"

"And your name?" demanded the Doctor.

"General Staal, of the Tenth Sontaran Fleet. Staal the Undefeated!"

"Well, that's not a very good nickname. What if you do get defeated? Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind?"

"He's like a potato - a baked potato - a talking baked potato," Ross kept blinking fast like that would turn the Sontaran into something else.

"Now, Ross, don't be rude, you look like a pink weasel to him," Renata blurted then quickly put a hand over her mouth. She definitely now understood what Donna told her earlier. She flashed an apologetic smile towards the man and promised herself she would start to think about her words before saying them from now on.

The Doctor grabbed a racket and started to bounce a green ball over it. He was acting far too calm but Renata was sure there was a plan brewing in that mins of his. "The Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy, dedicated to a life of warfare. A clone race, grown in batches of millions with only one weakness…"

Staal cut him off with a snarl. "Sontarans have no weakness!"

"No, it's a good weakness!"

"Aren't you meant to be clever?" Luke couldn't make up his mind about the Doctor. "Only an idiot would provoke him."

"No, but the Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of their neck, that's their weak spot. Which means, they always have to face their enemies in battle... isn't that brilliant?" the Doctor glanced at Renata with a beam. "They can never turn their backs!"

She smiled softly. She quite liked his excited face. "I was there in the class when they taught the lesson."

"We stare into the face of death!" Staal exclaimed.

"Yeah? Well, stare at this!" the Doctor threw the ball he'd been playing with into the air and smacked the racket against it when it came down. It flew past Staal and bounced off the teleporter to hit Staal's probic vent.

"Nice shot!" Renata laughed when the Doctor rushed past her and pulled her into a run with Ross.

"I'm good at many things, have I mentioned?" he said, quite proud.

The three successfully made a clean getaway to the Jeep and out of the Rattigan academy premises. The Doctor repeatedly tried to get in contact with someone from UNIT through the radio to inform them of the danger.

"Why's it not working?" Ross asked after the fifth failed attempt of contact.

"Must be the Sontarans. If they can trace that, then they can isolate the ATMOS," Renata theorized then glanced at the Doctor. "And you pissed them off."

"Sorry," the Doctor rolled his eyes.

 _'Turn left_ ,' the ATMOS GPS piped up.

The Doctor stared a while at the device before contrasting its instruction. "Try going right!"

"It said left," Ross pointed out.

"I know! So go right!"

Ross still didn't understand but he followed the order and attempted to make a right turn. The Jeep only swerved and kept in its designated road.

"I've got no control, it's driving itself! It won't stop!" Ross pulled his hands from the wheel and watched in horror as the car basically drove itself.

"Okay, so we try the doors!" Renata exclaimed and reached for the handle only to come up with nothing. "Doctor!"

He'd been trying to shut down the program altogether with the sonic but was having no luck. "It's deadlocked, I can't stop it!"

_'Turn left.'_

"The sat-nav's just a box, wired through the whole car!" the Doctor continued to mess with the device in hopes of breaking it at the very least.

"We're heading for the river!" Ross informed when the Jeep took a violent swerve to the left.

"Now might be a good time to use your brain, _please_!" Renata practically shook the Doctor. She wasn't quite ready to die yet. In fact, she was definitely certain she did not survive the Time War to be killed by a _car_.

He pried her hand off her arm and spoke to the device itself. "ATMOS, you're programmed to contradict my orders?"

_Confirmed._

"Anything I say, you'd ignore it?"

_Confirmed._

"Then drive into the river! I order you to drive into the river!"

Renata looked ready to punch him in the face. "WHAT!?"

"Do it! Drive into the river!"

"YOU IDIOT!" Renata screamed. "You've killed us all!"

The jeep made an abrupt halt a few inches from the river's edge and unlocked the doors. The Doctor pushed Renata out first then leaped out himself while Ross went out the other way.

' _Turn right... left... right... left…_ ' the navigation system was shortening out and the Doctor feared the worst.

"Get down!" he gave the order.

"No wait-" Renata was once again yanked to the side. She fell just beside the Doctor and scrunched her face at the explosion.

 _'Left, right, left, right, left, left, right, left, right_ -' but instead of exploding like expected, it gave off a pitiful small bang with a couple sparks here and there.

The Doctor sat upright and tilted his head at the car. "Oh, was that it?"

Renata, on the other hand, stayed on the ground and rubbed her forehead. "Only you could be disappointed there was no explosion."

The Doctor turned to her and helped her sit upright. "Are you alright?"

She pushed all of her strands of hair from her face and had to smile. "I am _way_ out of my element here."

The Doctor couldn't refrain from smiling. She was untidy, and he knew she hated that, yet she looked...good. It seemed like a real persona instead of the clean, perfect woman she strove to be.

He wished he could see that part of her more.

~0~

Donna was unsurprised to find that both her alien friends had been nearly killed. It seemed like it was there routine. She brought them to the family car parked out on the street so that the Doctor could have another look at the attached ATMOS to it.

"Here," Donna handed Renata a hair brush to which the blonde graciously accepted.

"I'll requisition us a vehicle," Ross informed and began going off when the Doctor called.

"Anything without ATMOS. Don't point your gun at people!" the Doctor then instructed Donna to get ahold of Martha on the phone. He did a double-take at Renata who was frantically brushing her hair. "Is this really the time?"

"I don't like being dirty!" she exclaimed, not to be rude but to merely point out she couldn't help who she was.

"Is it him?" they heard someone call from a distance. "Is it him? Is it the Doctor?" the man responsible for the voice came around the car and first spotted the Doctor working on the car. "Ah! It's _you_!"

"Who?" the Doctor asked before looking up to see the familiar man from Christmas pointing a finger at his face. "Oh! It's you!"

Renata turned around and stopped brushing her hair when she saw the man. "The stall vendor?" The man laughed and pointed at her in recognition.

Donna was the only one not laughing. "What, have you met before?!"

"Yeah, Christmas Eve. They disappeared right in front of me!" the man responded.

"And you never said?!"

"Well _you_ never said!" the man laughed and shook hands with the Doctor. "Wilf, sir. Wilfred Mott. You must be one of them aliens?!"

"Well - yeah, but don't shout it to meet you properly, Wilf."

"Oh, an alien hand...!" Wilf beamed then glanced at Renata again.

The blonde sported a kind smile. "I'm sorry for my appearance. I'm Renata. I would shake your hand but I'm afraid I'm a bit dirt-" Wilf didn't seem to mind as he shook her hand unexpectedly. Her smile widened a bit and she just went along with it.

"Donna, anything?" the Doctor called to the ginger still on the phone.

"She's not answering. What is it, Sontorans?"

"Sontarans. But there's got to be more to it, they can't be just remote controlling cars," the Doctor stared long and hard at the ATMOS device in the car. "That's not enough. Is anyone answering?"

"Martha! Hold on, he's here!" Donna quickly gave the Doctor the phone.

"Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file, Code Red, Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory tell them not to start shooting. UNIT will get massacred. I'll get back as soon as I can, you got that?"

"Code Red Sontaran. Gotcha," 'Martha' agreed and hung up.

The Doctor chucked Donna's cellphone over his shoulder, leaving Donna to scramble for it. He pulled out his sonic and dove into the car engine as an alternative way to get to the ATMOS.

"But you tried sonicking it before, you didn't find anything," Renata reminded.

"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for."

"Care to share with the rest of the class?"

Wilf came by once again, this time serious. "The thing is, Doctor, is that Donna is my only grandchild. You gotta promise me you're gonna take care of her."

"She takes care of us," the Doctor exclaimed and missed Donna roll her eyes behind him.

"Oh, yeah that's my Donna," Wilf laughed. "Yeah, she was always bossing us around when she was tiny. The Little General we used to call her."

"Maybe we should have put her against the Sontarans," Renata nudged the Doctor, both of them chuckling at the idea.

"And some of the boys she used to turn up with, a different one every week! Yeah, who was that one with the nail varnish?" Wilf stopped to remember on his own.

Donna had crossed her arms, not at all pleased where the conversation had gone to. "Matthew Richards. He lives in Kilbourn now. With a man."

Renata yelped when the Doctor jumped back due to the razor sharp spikes that sprouted from the ATMOS. "Whatever you did...put it back the way you found it."

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes. "It's a temporal pocket! I knew there was something else in there. It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time."

"But what's it hiding?" Donna dreaded to know, yet she knew with time they would find out the bad way.

"I don't know, men and their cars! Sometimes I think if I was a car…" Sylvia Noble had come out of the house to see the group crowding around the car. She stopped when she saw the Doctor. "Oh, it's you! Doctor... what was it?"

"Yeah, that's me," the Doctor barely paid her attention as he went back to work on the device.

"What, have you met him as well?" Wilf stared at his daughter in disbelief.

"Dad! It's the man from the wedding! When you were laid up with Spanish flu! I'm warning you, last time that man turned up it was a disaster!"

"You went to her wedding?" Renata asked the Doctor.

" _My_ wedding," Donna clarified. At Renata's curious expression, Donna added, "Fiancee was working for the Racnoss Queen and died."

Renata blinked. "Okay...then…"

The Doctor steered back from the cat again when the device released white gas into the air. "Get back!"

"Doctor!" Renata pleaded with him to stop messing around with the device. It was always his issue, touching things that were not his.

He went back in with the sonic and apparently shut down the gas. "That'll stop it!"

"I told you! He's blown up the car!" Silvia exclaimed. "Who is he anyway?! What sort of doctor blows up cars?!" she then cast a suspicious glance at Renata. "And who's this? And why is she using my brush?"

Renata quickly held out the brush. "I'm sorry. I don't like being dirty."

Sylvia seems only more annoyed. She snatched her hair brush and stalked back to the house.

"I think I made your mother even more mad," Renata turned to Donna. "Should I apologize?"

"Let her be," Donna waved it off.

"That wasn't just exhaust fumes... Some sort of gas. Artificial gas," the Doctor was thinking out loud.

"And it's aliens, is it? Aliens?" Wilf shook his head.

"But if... if it's poisonous... then we've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth," Donna slowly glanced at the other cars in the street.

Wilf decided he would help and got into the car. "It's not safe! I'm gonna get it off the street!"

But as soon as he climbed in, the car turned on its own. Smoke sprang from the pipe into the air again.

"Turn it off! Granddad, get out of there!" Donna shouted but her grandfather raised the cat keys to show he hadn't even yet touched the ignition.

"Doctor, the Sontarans have started haven't they?" Renata swallowed. Things got worse when the same gas started filling inside the car.

"There's gas inside the car! He's gonna choke! Doctor!" Donna failed to get the car doors opened

The came around with the sonic but also made no success. "It won't open!

"Doctor…" Renata's slow call made him turn to her. She was staring, wide eyed, at the street being engulfed by the same smoke.

Every single car was emitting the poison into the air.

It was the whole world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P. S: I have created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	11. Understand Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the fight against the Sontarans comes to a close, Renata breaks down over the Doctor's choice on how to end the fight. It leads to a heartfelt moment afterwards.

Smoke had invaded almost every inch of Donna's street but all the attention for the moment was on freeing her grandfather from the car he was locked in. The smoke had practically covered everything inside.

"He's gonna choke! Doctor!" Donna frantically tried anything at this point, but nothing opened the car doors.

Suddenly, Sylvia pushed Donna out of the way and shattered the windscreen with an axe. Everyone had frozen to stare at her. "Well, don't just stand there! Get him out!" the woman flapped a hand at her father inside the car.

"I can't believe you've got an axe!" Donna gaped.

"Burglars!"

"Are you alright?" Renata helped the Doctor get Wilf out of the car. The man looked pale but otherwise fine.

"Get inside the house. Just try and close off the doors and windows," the Doctor instructed Sylvia who quickly took her father's arm.

Ross stopped by them in a black cab. "Doctor! This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."

The Doctor graciously took it. He glanced at Renata and saw the blonde was more than ready to go. "Donna, you coming?" he then called for the ginger.

"It's alright if you don't," Renata assured her. She learned fast that for humans family meant everything, to most anyways.

Donna agreed but her mother did not. "Donna! Don't go! Look what happens every time that Doctor appears! Stay with us, please!"

"You go my darling!" Wilf dissuaded any of Donna's doubts. "Don't listen to her! You go with the Doctor! That's my girl!"

"What did you _do_ to those people?" Renata mumbled the question to the Doctor as she got into the cab with him. Sylvia looked like she harbored a _deep_ disdain for the Doctor.

"Eh, long story," he sighed. "Talk it over dinner?"

Renata blinked at the question. It took her by surprise that he would actually want to talk about it with her, and over dinner...the routine he still had trouble adjusting to. "Sure," her lips stretched into a very happy smile.

The Doctor could tell she loved the idea. It wasn't easy to please her and it was a shame because he really liked her smile.

~0~

Donna crinkled her nose the moment they got out of the cab at the factory. "The air is disgusting!"

"You shouldn't expose yourself too much," Renata worried for the weaker lung system humans had.

"She's right. You should get inside the TARDIS! Oh, never given you a key!" the Doctor got a second TARDIS key from his pocket and held it out for Donna. "Keep that!"

"You give keys out?" Renata's flat tone told Donna that _she_ didn't have a key.

"Why don't you have one?"

"Because she kept trying to run away," the Doctor answered with a gaze directly set on Renata. He was a bit guilty for forgetting to give her a key though. Time had just gone by from him.

"You kidnapped me," Renata reminded him with the same flat tone.

"Seriously, I want to hear that story," Donna pointed a finger at the two and snatched the key from the Doctor with her other hand. "After we get all this fixed up."

And so the three separated with Donna heading into the TARDIS and the two aliens into the factory.

"I have to ask…" Renata began slowly once she and the Doctor entered the factory, "... _do_ you know what you're doing?"

"Eh," the Doctor beamed. "This is my forteshay! We'll be great!"

"You mean _you_ will be great. _I_ -" Renata gestured to herself, "-am barely even recognized around here. I'm not complaining, I mean, I did let the Master do horrible things to these people."

The Doctor stopped walking and turned to face her. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah it was. Just like always, I didn't have the courage to do something," Renata shook her head. She crossed her arms. "That's always been my thing. And it's cost me _so_ much…"

The Doctor noticed her change in expression. She was staring at him with such meaning that it made him guess this was something important from her past. There were so many things hidden behind her brown eyes…

"We should get to the humans," Renata cleared her throat once she realized her lingering stare. She needed to stop doing things like this.

The two Time Lords arrived at the central command room where every employee was busy at work.

"Right then, here I am, good. Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle, there is nothing they like better than a war," the Doctor warned the man. "Just leave this to me."

Mace eyed the two aliens with some suspicion. "And what are you going to do?"

"I've got the TARDIS, I'm gonna get on board their ship," the Doctor announced and missed Renata's scrutinizing look beside.

There was no way in hell that was it. He had something else hidden inside that dusty brain of his. It had to - _oh_. Renata covered her nose with her hand and acted like she was just being casual. Something _smelled_.

Her eyes widened when she traced the smell to the incoming Martha Jones. "Oh hell no," Renata mumbled and went for her when the Doctor grabbed her arm and yanked her backwards. She threw him a glare.

"No," he whispered. Renata relaxed only a little knowing that the Doctor had also caught the putrid smell. This was not Martha Jones. She was a clone. Martha was off somewhere and they would find her.

~ 0 ~

Martha the clone cluelessly followed Renata and the Doctor to the alleyway where the TARDIS was meant to be. They stopped short when they saw the TARDIS was not there anymore.

"But... where's the TARDIS?" Martha played her cards right and acted rightly surprised.

"What are you doing?" Renata watched the Doctor taste AIR air.

"Taste that, in the air. Yecch. That sort of metal tang. Teleport exchange!'

"It's the Sontarans, they've taken it. And with…" Renata stopped when the bell in her head went off. Oh, if there was anything about the Doctor she was sure of it was that he was _good_.

And he continued playing his blissful act. "I'm stuck, on Earth like... like an ordinary person. Like a human! How rubbish is that!" he blinked and frowned at Renata. "How did you ever do that?"

"Because, as it turns out, I like normal life," Renata smiled a bit.

"So what do we do?" Martha called for their attention.

"Well... I mean it's shielded, they could never detect it…" the Doctor waited for some sort of expression but the clone was probably incapable of it.

Renata turned to 'Martha' and narrowed her eyes. Martha caught the look and waited for something to be said. When it didn't happen, she made a gesture. "What?"

"What's happening with the air, have you called your family?" Renata asked and almost rolled her eyes at the clone's lack of knowledge. "You told Donna to talk to her family and... _you_ haven't? Not even to warn them?" the Doctor put a hand on Renata's shoulder, his silent form of indicating she was treading along dangerous territory.

Thankfully, the clone was too focused on not blowing her cover. "Course I will, yeah, but, what about Donna? I mean, where's she?"

"Oh, she's gone home. She's not like you, she's not a soldier," the Doctor swiftly supplied the excuse and started back to the factory. "Right. So, avanti!" for security measures, he brought Renata right beside him.

"Change of plan!" he informed the UNIT employees when they returned to the base.

"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor," Mace nodded but the Doctor disagreed.

"I'm not fighting, I'm not-fighting, as in not hyphen fighting, got it? Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

"We're working on it," the clone answered.

"I bet you are," Renata mumbled under her breath.

A different woman came by to them with more information on hand. "It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80% density. We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City."

"And who are you?" asked a bewildered Doctor.

"Captain Marion Price, sir," the woman saluted to him.

"Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute!"

"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor, coming from 5000 miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars," informed Mace.

"The Sontaran ship," the Doctor hummed.

"NATO has gone to Defcon One, we're preparing a strike."

"Um…" Renata blinked and quickly glanced at the working employees behind them. "Yeah, no. You can't do that." Mace settled a hard look on her and she raised her hands in defense. "Sontarans are pretty well developed in their weaponry and...just overall. "

"Just let us talk to the Sontarans," the Doctor jumped in with the question.

Mace looked at them both like they were out of their minds. "You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth."

"I've got that authority, I earned that a long time ago," the Doctor begged to differ. He went right ahead and connected to the system in order to get in contact with the Sontarans. "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is The Doctor."

In no time they had a Sontaran on screen. "Doctor, breathing your last?"

Mace blinked at the figure of alien on the screen. "My God, they're like trolls."

"Really? You want to make them more angry?" Renata pointed him to stay quiet.

"So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?" the Doctor heard Renata's deep sigh beside him.

"How dare you!?" Staal practically screeched in offence.

"At this point I'd be better off talking," Renata mumbled. She was good at talking when it came to things SHE she was passionate about.

When she ran her foundation, she was always in the market looking for potential donations and that required a lot of negotiation skills. But to her, it wasn't business. It was all for the single cause of helping people. She was good at it. She knew she was because of the large donations she would receive from particular stingy people.

But this was _war_ talk.

She didn't like war. War meant death and she had many people taken from her because of war.

The skills just weren't there.

"...but poison gas?" the Doctor unbeknownst pulled Renata from her thoughts. She was glad to see him finally getting back on track. "That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky, and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor? Or, are you lot planning something else? Cos this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"

"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces," Staal declared.

"Aaah, the war's not going so well, then? Losing, are we?"

"Such a suggestion is impossible."

Mace got the feeling that this other opponent of the Sontarans were not exactly humans. "What war?"

'The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans," the Doctor answered him. "It's been raging, far out in the stars for 50,000 years. 50,000 years of bloodshed, and for what?"

"For victory. Sontar-ha!" Staal led the rest of the Sontarans into a joint chant.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and decided to give their ears a break. "Give me a break." He switched the channel of the screen to a normal cartoon show.

"You can't be serious," Renata stared incredulously at the Doctor. He smirked and twirled his sonic between his fingers.

Mace disapproved with the tactics as well. "Doctor. I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation."

But there, Renata had to contradict. "I know it looks bad -" she waved a hand at the Doctor who kept twirling his sonic like nothing, "-but he really is good at this-" but the sonic twirling got on her nerves and so she snatched it from him. "Stop it!"

The Doctor laughed and took his sonic back. He switched the channel back to the Sontarans. "Finished?"

"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize. Behold!" Staal moved out of the way to showcase the TARDIS in their ship. "We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS.

"Well. As prizes go, that's... noble," the Doctor eyed the screen carefully, knowing Donna had to be watching from inside the TARDIS. "As they say in Latin, Donna nobis pacem."

Renata hoped to God that Donna was not as terrified as she thought the ginger would be. It was rather rude not to tell Donna of the plan, but Renata doubted the Doctor had time to come up with a different plan.

"Did you never wonder about its design? It's phonebox," the Doctor continued nonchalantly. "It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like if only we could communicate. You and I."

"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor," Staal snapped.

"Big mistake though. Showing it to me," the Doctor warned and raised a small device. "Cos I've got remote control."

"Cease transmission!" Staal immediately ordered and ended the contact.

"Oh, well," the Doctor go up from his chair with a mighty casual face.

Mace looked more peeved than ever. "That's achieved nothing."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," the Doctor smiled knowingly. Mace still wasn't convinced.

"He usually has something good," Renata offered words of encouragement but she too failed and sighed when the man walked away.

"You sure seem to know about me more than I thought," the Doctor eyed her.

Renata cleared her throat and searched her brain for a quick excuse. "I've just... I've caught on, that's all. But…" she looked around before taking him by the arm to the doorway away from the others, "I have to say I'm a little upset you put Donna into a dangerous situation. If you needed someone up on the Sontaran ship you could have asked _me_."

"I didn't exactly have time to do it. We had to be alone for me to explain out loud, since…" he stopped and rubbed the side of his neck.

Renata waited for him to finish his thought but he seemed reluctant to. "Since what?" she ultimately asked.

"Since, well, we're not...you know…" he pointed between them, specifically their heads, "Telepathically connected?"

"Oh…" Renata blinked. "I guess...I guess not. Hadn't really thought of that actually."

Being able to telepathically communicate with one another was child's play for Time Lords. Even a newborn had that ability packed down. Renata had gotten so used to being alone on Earth and cancelling out her abilities with a perception filter that now that she was free, the thought to open that ability with the Doctor hadn't even crossed her mind.

Judging by the Doctors face, he had thought of it.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Renata couldn't help smile at his shifty behavior. He looked so nervous, it reminded her of their younger days. He was just as jumpy and adventurous then but also a little more easy to make nervous. Apparently she did that on a regular basis.

"You were angry with me and then…" the Doctor gave a shrug. "I don't know, I just...I didn't want you to think I was pressuring you."

Renata swore she was reliving the past then.

* * *

_A young Renata (then Zuriah) finished overlooking a couple of papers. When she lowered them down, her surprised expression came face to face with a younger Doctor sitting right in front of her._

_"This is actually...good," she breathed in._

_The Doctor sarcastically rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, I'm known for bad ideas-"_

_"Bad ideas-"_

_Once again the Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, alright-"_

_"Actually, terrible ideas sometimes-"_

_"Okay-"_

_"-and in some of your ridiculously finest moments, awful-"_

_" **Alright** ," the Doctor finally cut her off. Zuriah sheepishly smiled in return. "What I was trying to say was that I didn't say anything because I wanted things to be good. To be in check, I meant. Because I know how you like everything about this foundation to be perfect-"_

_"Perfect is good," Zuriah said logically, making him smile._

_"Yes, fine-"_

_"No, it **is** fine," Zuriah gently corrected but the Doctor just motioned her to stay quiet and let him finish._

_"I wanted everything to be properly done before you got to see it. I triple checked everything and there are no mistakes."_

_Zuriah's eyes flickered from the papers to the Doctor. "Well, this is actually really great. I could have a potential investor in the foundation. That'll be big! Me, not even graduated from the academy…"_

_"It'll make you even more unique!"_

_Zuriah blushed. "Thank you, but...you could have told me about this earlier. I would have helped."_

_"I just...I didn't want to pressure you," the Doctor rubbed the side of his neck. "I know how...complex you are with the foundation, so... I needed things to be perfect for you."_

_Zuriah chuckled at this nervousness. She didn't want to admit it, but she thought he looked adorable._

* * *

"I think…" Renata couldn't form a coherent sentence then, her face inexplicably warm.

The Doctor would've paid her more attention if Martha the clone hadn't walked in at that moment. She was overlooking a clipboard but no doubt with a second agenda. The Doctor strode up to her and snatched the clipboard from her.

Martha hadn't been expecting his presence but made due. "There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides but 10% unidentified. Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

The Doctor hated that he truly didn't know. "Must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison, they need this gas for something else. What could that be?"

"Uh, Doctor…" Renata was staring at the room. "The humans are at it again." The Doctor rushed back into the room in time to see them prepare to launch.

"What?! I told you not to launch!"

Mace regarded him barely. "The gas is at 60% density, 80% and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."

"Launching will only speed up your deaths," Renata thought this was a logical consequence but the humans didn't see it.

"You're making a mistake, Colonel! For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you."

Renata side-glanced Martha the clone who seemed far too calm for someone who was about to be 'blown up' in a matter of seconds. But that was it, wasn't it? The clone wasn't worried because she wasn't going to get hurt. The Sontarans...wouldn't fire.

"...4, 3, 2, 1…0"

And just at that moment of supposed launch, every computer went dark.

Mace saw all the computers' screens in disbelief. "What is it? What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?"

"Negative, sir," informed Price. "The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

"Can we override it?"

"Now why would you want to override your get-out-of-death card?" Renata felt so frustrated it really made her wonder how the Doctor kept doing this.

"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship, so why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?" the Doctor asked and looked to Martha. "Any ideas?"

The clone raised an eyebrow. "How should I know?"

"Greyhound 40 declaring absolute emergency!" they all heard Ross' voice over the comm. system . "Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor grid six!"

"Absolute emergency, declaring Code Red. All troops, Code Red!" Mace shouted into the comms.

"Get them out of there!" the Doctor rushed to the man, urgently trying to get a full on retreat...only to be ignored.

"All troops, open fire!"

"The guns aren't working. Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work!"

"Please!" Renata went after the Doctor. "They're not equipped to fight these aliens! Get them out!"

"Tell the Doctor it's that Cordolaine signal. He's the only one who can stop them-" but the was the last thing they heard from the radio.

"Greyhound 40, report!" Mace cluelessly ordered. "Over. Greyhound 40, report. Greyhound 40, report!"

By this point the Doctor was furious. "He wasn't Greyhound 40, his name was Ross. Now listen to me, and GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"

That kind of shout would have made anyone shrink. Mace knew when to give in, and so he made the order for a full retreat.

"That's not going to stop them from overtaking the factory," Renata told the Doctor, hoping he would calm down. He was no good when he was frustrated. She knew that.

"But it doesn't make sense," he was utterly confused with the war strategy. "Why attack _now_? What are they up to? Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier…" he made a turn at Mace. "No offence."

"None taken. Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately he's stranded in Peru."

"Launch grid back online!" Price called them back.

Renata sighed. "You know, humans were a lot easier to handle in my time."

"You had them in historical times where they were even _more_ ignorant," the Doctor remarked.

"Yes, but ignorance meant easier control," Renata shook her head.

Once again, the launching system failed. Price went back in to see the problem but could barely get the screens to turn back on. "They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from within UNIT itself," she resolved.

Mace overlooked any screen in his vicinity and ordered for them to trace it. He returned to where the Doctor and Renata stood and shared his one winning question. "Why are they defending the factory only after we were inside?"

"Because they wanted you here," Renata said within the second and received an odd look in return. "I fought in a war too, _sir_. It's a plain, simple strategy. There is obviously something UNIT had that they wanted...and now it's still here."

"Then whatever it is we've got to recover it," Mace could finally agree with her on something. "This Cordolaine signal thing, how does it work?

"The bullets. It causes expansion of the copper shell," explained the Doctor.

"Excellent. I'm on it," Mace walked off.

"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!" the Doctor shouted after him in vain.

"Don't waste your breath on them," Renata muttered.

The Doctor let it go only for the moment. They needed to get in contact with Donna up in the TARDIS but they could only talk somewhere quiet, private. He managed to secure a phone from a nearby officer, and with Renata's help, called to Donna.

"I'll keep watch," Renata promised and stood just by the threshold of the small side room. Martha the clone wasn't even paying attention to them but they weren't going to take any chances.

The Doctor was persuading Donna to take down a Sontaran up on the ship and Renata felt for the woman, understanding it was probably a scary thing for a human. There really was no training for such moments.

Luckily, the Doctor seemed skilled in persuasion. He talked to Donna with so much confidence - something Renata easily saw Donna lacked - that he definitely got Donna to go out and do what he needed. It was always his thing. He could do whatever the hell he wanted. He could talk his way out of death - he _had_ \- and probably many other things.

"Oh, you are brilliant, you are!" she heard the man practically kiss the phone out of delight.

She barely contained her smile. She turned around, her hair flipping with her, and faced a rather bright Doctor. "The way you speak to Donna...seems like you care about her a lot."

"Well-" the Doctor lowered the phone for a bit, "-don't you?"

"I mean...yeah, I don't want her to die or anything, but...I barely know the woman. And you...you seem to be like that with every human we meet."

"They're extraordinary people. You've lived with them long too…"

"Yeah, but, just as neighbors. I kept to myself except for ...you know…" Renata's smile faded, "...the Cartwrights."

The Doctor nodded. It was still a pang to his hearts whenever she spoke about her adoptive human children. Never would he forget that it was his fault they were killed. It was something he would have to carry for the rest of his lives.

"Counter-attack!" Mace's sudden appearance made both aliens rush back into the main room.

"I said you don't stand a chance!" the Doctor felt like a broken record.

"Positions," Mace flatout ignored the warning. "That means _everyone_." He abruptly tossed two gas masks at Renata. "You're not going without me!"

"I...I don't even know where we're going," Renata immediately turned to the Doctor expecting a full on explanation.

The Doctor took her out with them and, after putting on the gas masks, they entered the fog-ridden street. Mace showed them the weapons they were going to be using in just a minute

"Latest firing stock, what do you think, Doctor?"

"Are you my Mummy?" the Doctor comically responded. Renata whacked him on the chest.

"If you could concentrate," Mace retorted. "Bullets with a rad-steel coating, no copper surface. Should overcome the Cordolaine signal."

"But the Sontarans have got lasers!" the Doctor was tired of repeating to just be ignored. "You can't even see in this fog, the night-vision doesn't work."

"Thank you Doctor, thank you for your lack of faith. But this time, I'm not listening," Mace took off his gas mask and addressed his awaiting soldiers. "Attention, all troops! Sontarans might think of us as primitive. As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more! From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do! Trap One to Hawk Major! Go, go, go!"

Renata was the first one to look up at the sky after hearing a loud whirring sound. The fog around them was swept away by none other than the Valiant. Her hearts nearly stopped but she knew that this time the ship was being used for good.

And the Master was dead.

She pulled off her gas mask with the others and expressed her impression of the humans' strategy. "This was actually not a bad idea."

"Valiant, fire at will!" Mace gave the final order.

The Valiant fired at the factory with a collection of green energy. The soldiers on the ground went in with all the power they had and actually managed to overpower the Sontarans.

While this was good news, it also meant it was time to continue the plan. The Doctor once again put Donna on the line.

"Donna, hold on. I'm coming," he reassured the probably-terrified ginger on the other line.

"Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?" the clone was right behind the two aliens.

Renata put on her best smile for the clone, even though the stench made her want to gag. "Martha, I've missed you. This can be like one of our old times."

The Doctor called the women over, and soon the three followed him and his sonic to hunt down the alien technology inside the factory. The search led them to the basement of the factory with no such disruptions from the Sontarans.

"If there's no Sontarans here, it must be where their precious cargo is," Renata muttered to the Doctor who agreed in a hum.

"They can't resist a battle. Here we go," the Doctor pushed open the doors of the lab and the first thing he saw was the real Martha Jones fast asleep over a metal table.

"Martha!" Renata cried and ran towards the woman.

The Doctor came after her and searched for Martha's vital, thankful to find one. "She's still alive," she calmed Renata's nerves.

Renata's gaze went over to the clone who had taken aim at them with a gun. "Seriously?" the blonde raised an eyebrow. The Doctor followed her gaze and shared the same, unimpressed face.

"Wish you carried a gun now?"

"Not at all," the Doctor rolled his eyes. He could feel the overconfidence radiating off the clone.

"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time," the clone proudly informed them.

"Doing exactly what I wanted. I needed to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent!"

The clone blinked, of course not expecting her identity to be compromised so early in the mission. "When did you know?"

"We always knew," Renata revealed to her. "Clone basis. What do you humans call it? 101?" she glanced at the Doctor to make sure she'd gotten it right. He gave her a little smile of amusement but still confirmed her question. "You have a reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And, frankly, the worst of it all-" Renata waved a hand in front of her nose, "-you smell. _Badly_."

"You might as well have worn a T-shirt saying 'clone'," the Doctor remarked but re-thought his statement. "Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? Cos you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive." He ripped off the device on Martha's head to break the connection.

The real woman screamed awake and started ramble on over the last thing she remembered. At the same time, the clone screeched and fell to the ground. Renata went over and got the gun away from her.

"It's alright, Martha! It's alright!" the Doctor promised her, but it took several more seconds for Martha to get with the program. The cellphone he'd taken started to ring again, making him groan. "Oh, blimey I'm busy. Got it?" he answered.

"You needn't be so rude to poor Donna," Renata returned and disapprovingly shook her head at him.

The Doctor acknowledged her statement with a wave of a hand and continued speaking to Donna. "Take off the covering. All the blue switches inside, flick them up like a fusebox. And that should get the teleport working." He hurriedly moved to the broken teleport in the room and tinkered with the glitches while Donna did his task.

"Oh my God," Martha breathed in when she saw her clone still struggling on the ground. "That's me!"

"Yes, it's your clone," Renata reassured her everything was fine now. "She won't hurt you."

"It's not like she can hurt anything now," Martha got off her bed and, despite Renata's warnings, she went to the clone.

"Don't touch me!" the clone swatted Martha's hands away.

"It's not my fault," Martha insisted to speak with the clone. "The Sontarans created you. But... you had all my memories."

The clone breathed in harder, and a little faster. "You've got a brother, sister, mother and father."

"If you don't help me, they're gonna die," Martha thought that since the clone was technically her, she would have a heart somewhere.

"You love them…"

"Yes, remember that?"

"The gas!" the Doctor shouted from the teleport. "Tell us about the gas!"

"He's the enemy!" the clone gritted her teeth together.

"Then tell me. It's not just poison, what's it for?" Martha anxiously awaited for the clone to answer her. "Martha, please!"

The clone released a sigh. "Caesofine concentrate. It's one part of Bosteen, two parts Probic 5."

"Clonefeed!" the Doctor instantly knew the plan.

"What's clonefeed?" Martha looked at the two aliens questionably.

"It's your basic amniotic fluid for Sontarans," Renata explained. "They're about to breed on this planet." Martha crinkled her nose.

"It's why they're not invading the planet - they're converting the atmosphere," the Doctor finally got the idea. "Changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. Cos the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give 'em a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's food!"

"My heart...it's getting slower," the clone leaned against the leg of a table.

"There's nothing I can do," Martha said sadly.

"In your mind, you've got so many plans. There's so much that you wanna do…"

"And I will," Martha gave a small smile. "Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. Cos…"

"Cos you never know how long you've got. Martha Jones... All that life."

Renata's gaze fell to the floor suddenly. The two Marthas' words had hit an unexpected home. It was easier said than done, right?

"Now!" the Doctor exclaimed and startled the blonde back to the present. He pointed his sonic at the teleport pod from outside and activated it. Donna appeared within the next second, scared out of her mind.

She hopped off and met the Doctor with a hug. "Have I ever told you how much I hate you?"

The Doctor was, at the moment, a little more preoccupied with using the teleport again. "Hold on, hold on! Get off me!" he had to move Donna out of the way to sonic the teleport again. "Gotta bring the TARDIS down."

"Well, that's still rude," Renata met Donna with a well needed hug. "You did fantastic," she praised the ginger's admiral bravery. Donna smiled shyly but took the compliment.

"Martha, you coming?" the Doctor called to the woman once the blue box was back with them.

"What about this nuclear launch thing?" Martha slowly got back on her feet.

"Just keep pressing N, we want to keep those missiles on the ground!"

Donna noticed the lying Martha on the ground and blinked. "But...there's two of them."

"It's not worth telling," Renata reassured her and moved Dona into the teleport with the Doctor and Martha.

"The old team, back together!" the Doctor grinned then looked at the two women who hadn't exactly been with him since Martha's start. "Well, the new team."

"Forced team!" Renata reminded him with a huff. "You kidnapped me!"

The Doctor let his head hang. " _Again_? I just-"

"I don't want to go back on that ship!" Donna let her feelings be heard loud and clear.

"No, no, no," the Doctor shook his head at her. "I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to…" he activated the teleport again and transferred them to Rattigan Academy, "Here! The Rattigan Academy, owned by-"

"Don't tell anyone what I did!" Luke Rattigan himself stood in front of them with shaking hands aiming a gun at them. "It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they-"

The Doctor, completely unimpressed and outright tired, snatched the gun from Luke's hands - making the teen flinch - and chucked the gun away. "If I see one more gun…"

Renata didn't even notice her smile at him until Martha nudged her side. "Don't drool," the woman teased.

Renata blushed but couldn't snap when Donna cut in, having heard the tease and of course became curious. "Hold on, did she just say-"

"Martha Jones I will throw you into orbit," Renata muttered and stalked away.

Donna's biggened smile followed after the blonde. "Now just tell me…"

Renata purposely busied herself by helping the Doctor create whatever it was he'd thought of. The Doctor never heard anything since he was too focused on explaining - out loud - the real plan of the Sontarans.

"That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles, they were holding back! Because, caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack! Ground-to-air engagement could've sparked off the whole thing!"

"Do you breathe somewhere along those quick rambles?" Renata asked with some genuine concern. It had always been one of her famous questions, and she supposed the Doctor remembered it too because he paused his work and stared at her rather perplexed. _Oh my God I will never learn, will I?_ she berated herself.

"So they were like going to set fire to the atmosphere?" Martha unknowingly got the Doctor back on track.

"Yeah…" he answered, still slow at first as he got over the initial surprise. He was probably overthinking things anyways. Many people could say that...then again, no one really had except for one person…he had to stop. "They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?"

"They promised me a new world," Luke was leaning against his desk, contemplating his life choices.

"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mundo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this! An atmospheric converter," the Doctor tapped the device he was working on.

"Color me shocked," Renata blinked. "That big brain and you couldn't see you were being used?"

The Doctor picked up the device and ran out the room, letting the others follow him out. The sky was full of smoke, nothing could be seen beyond.

"That's London. You can't even see it. My family's in there," Donna felt her nerves wreck.

The Doctor was tinkering with the device, hoping to get the activation right. "If I can get this on the right setting…"

"Doctor, hold on, you said the atmosphere would ignite…" Martha recalled the words with looming conclusions.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" he finally activated the device. A flame burst from it and plunged into the sky, causing the ignition. "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please…" he actually crossed his fingers and bounced a little, something Renata watched with almost frustration.

Martha noticed it and wondered what exactly it was. Because while it was frustration it wasn't exactly the same 'I'm upset' frustration one would think. It seemed almost like...realization.

What had Renata realized?

The fire in the sky disappeared in about a minute, clearing all smoke with it.

"He's a genius!" Luke gawked.

"Just brilliant," Donna laughed.

The Doctor didn't express the same happiness. He was still a little more urgent. "Now we're in trouble!" he grabbed the device and rushed back inside the room.

He was already inside the teleporter once again when the others got back in the room. The device was standing right beside him, and a finger was hovering over the teleporter control. "Right, so... Donna, thank you. For everything," he began, rather awkwardly yet full of sorrow. "Martha, you too. Oh... so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life. Renata, I kidnapped you and it was, unashamedly, the best decision I ever made."

Renata was stunned, but not by his words. "You…" her face scrunched into something, but Donna didn't give her the chance to express herself.

"Why are you saying goodbye?" she demanded.

"Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so…" the Doctor left the rest to the imagination.

"You're gonna ignite them and kill yourself," Renata's sharpened voice was like a puncturing needle on the Doctor. Oh, she was getting mad...or something along those lines.

"Just send that thing up, on it's own. I don't know... put it on a delay!" Martha thought fast.

The Doctor shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I've got to give them a choice."

Renata felt like a ticking time bomb and the explosion was coming. "Doctor you listen-"

But the Doctor teleported before she could finish. Her eyes may have been disheartening but it was contrasted by the big scowl resting across her lips.

"Ren…" Martha didn't even want to imagine what was running through Renata's mind at the moment. She moved over to Renata's side.

"I know what you're thinking but you'll never say," the blonde began, uncharacteristically calm despite the situation. It was a scary type of calm. "If I had told him, he would've done differently. Well, I've got a newsflash for you, he _wouldn't_. I stopped mattering centuries ago and yet...he still matters to me - I…" she shook her head.

She would not spill tears. She had no right anyways. She made the mistake and she had to live with the consequences. She turned the Doctor away once, and she made it damn clear she would never, ever runaway with him. It was the death sentence to their once, young love and she knew it. With the centuries' pass, she thought it was all a closed story. It didn't matter anymore. He'd been married, had kids, done so many, many things without ever once attempting to find her. Granted she'd unexpectedly regenerated before graduating, but even then, he could have found her if he tried. But he hadn't. She told him never to make contact with her.

It _should_ have been the ending of them.

And yet, today, coupled with all their recent travels, Renata came to the conclusion - the second time in her life - that the Doctor still mattered to her. She still cared for him. She loved him. She loved him in all his stupid, quirky acts and and heroic moments.

"I hate him," she swallowed hard and maintained her face of any emotions that would give her up.

"What are you doing?" Donna called to Luke inside the teleport. She'd been paying close attention to Renata but ultimately the boy messing around with the only device that could bring back the aliens got to her.

"Something clever," Luke promised them. He straightened up and gave a final smile at them before teleporting away and leaving the Doctor in his place.

The Time Lord was too shellshocked from the sudden switcheroo to speak. He clambered out of the teleporter and rested on the edge of it. Donna was the first one to march up to him and whacked him on the arm. He flinched but Donna then hugged him out of relief for his safety.

The same could not be said for a blonde Time Lady.

~0~

"You're a selfish prick, you know that!?" Renata paced back and forth inside the TARDIS, spewing out some very nice vocabulary that the Doctor flinched at every second or so.

He now knew what Renata looked like when she was mad as hell. Still, thinking he deserved it, he kept his mouth shut and allowed Renata to get her feelings off her chest.

"You don't go asking me - _kidnapping_ me - to get me in your TARDIS only for you to then go sacrificing yourself for a stupid cause!" she was almost purple on the face after such a long sentence she said so fast.

"It wasn't 'stupid'-"

" _Yes_ -" Renata cut him off and stormed towards him, "-it _was_. Sontarans don't give a damn if some of their fleet gets killed off! There's always going to be Sontarans but there is only one _you_ -" she jabbed her index finger on his chest.

Her compliment, though obscured with crazy anger, almost made the Doctor believe he heard wrong. He couldn't help the smile his lips gave. "That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me," he remarked, making Renata blink with realization.

Oh God she _had_ just said that.

The Doctor gingerly took her finger still threatening his chest. "And now that I know how you feel, I can honestly say I will think twice before giving myself up like that again."

Renata swallowed and pulled her finger from his hand. He was smiling so stupidly at her, full of genuine care for her. "Fine!" she relented for that case only. "You don't ever pull that on me again because it's selfish! You're selfish!" she was letting her emotions take her over and that was not good. She felt like a child, really, shouting and almost crying. "I scold you, I say things I don't mean, I make your life _impossibly_ difficult but it is my unfortunate way of saying that I _do_ care! I'm selfish too because I want you to take it and know what I actually mean!" Oh my god she had definitely sounded like him with his rambling.

The Doctor was sure that if he showed a smile it would be rude but he was fairly amused at her innocence. He only slightly chuckled and yanked Renata into a hug, surprising her in the process. "You think I didn't know that already? If you had actually hated me, you would've left a long time ago. Renée, contrary to the popular belief that I am a clueless idiot-"

"Which you are…" Renata blurted and scrunched her eyes shut. "Sorry."

The Doctor laughed again. "I _do_ know what actual hate looks like, and it's not in you. It's okay if you're not good with words. I will always understand what you mean to say.'

His words made her hearts swell and him hugging her tighter didn't help her case. But, just for that one moment, she allowed herself to really feel. She accepted she still loved his hugs and the way he smelled, his natural way with words - the very talent she lacked as he stated - and his extraordinary talent at frustrating her. She loved it all and she loved him.

But he would never know.

Martha and Donna walked in at that moment, unknowingly ending the moment between the aliens. Martha was asking how Donna's family was after such a day.

"They're fine," Donna assured but she was struggling to sound casual. Actually deciding to leave her family for an indefinite period wasn't something easy to do. "So! You gonna come with us? We're not exactly short of space."

"It really would be nice to have you around," Renata told Martha, though the hope for that was minimal. From the very start of their arrival to the ATMOS factory, Renata could tell the sparkle of space adventures wasn't in Martha's eyes anymore. The woman loved her life on Earth and there was no pulling her from it.

Martha nostalgically gazed at the console room. "Oh, I have missed all this, but, you know. I'm good here. Back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides-" she raised her hand and flashed her engagement ring at the three, "-someone needs me. Never mind the universe, I've got a great big world of my own now!"

But almost as soon as she said that, the doors slammed shut and they heard the locking noose. Before anyone could ask what was going on, the TARDIS took off with a violent shake, throwing the others around.

"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha had landed over a railing. "I said kidnap Renata not _me_!"

The Doctor was trying to figure out what was piloting the TARDIS because it sure as hell wasn't him. "No, no, no! I didn't touch anything! We're in flight, it's not me!"

"Dare I ask where we're going!?" Renata pulled herself around the console to get to the scanner in hopes of figuring out the destination.

"I don't know, it's out of control!" the Doctor reached the scanner at the same time as Renata. Both of them saw no destination but the TARDIS sure seemed determined to get to it.


	12. Ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A daughter is born in the middle of war, bringing back painful memories of the past. In the end, tears will be shed.

The TARDIS shook all its inhabitants like ragdolls as it made its journey to an unknown place. No matter what the Doctor - nor Renata for that matter - attempted to do, the console would not react. They were not in control. Martha and Donna screeched and yelled as sparks almost got them. Nothing would stop!

"Doctor!" Renata cried after the man fell backwards, next to the bubbly glass jar of his like hand.

"I'm okay!" he glanced at the jar and remarked, " I don't know where we're going but my old hand's very excited about it!"

Renata groaned and with one hand clinging to the console, she reached for the Doctor. "No joking! No jokes while we're heading to God knows where!"

"Wait a second -" Donna found time to be horrified, "-you're telling me that hand is actually _yours_!?"

The Doctor could tell she wasn't interested in the back story - which he thought was a pretty cool story - and so he just confirmed it with a nod. However, the same didn't apply to Martha who easily blurted out the explanation.

"It got cut off. He grew a new one!"

If the TARDIS hadn't already been shaking, threatening to throw her overboard, Donna would've fallen back out of shock. "You are completely... impossible!"

The Doctor took some mild interest on the statement. "Not impossible, just... a bit unlikely!"

The TARDIS released one more dangerous explosion that threw Donna and Martha to the side, then another lurch which sent both Renata and the Doctor back, before finally stopping. In the dead of silence only their hurtful groans could be heard.

"Ow, ow, ow ow…" the Doctor was the first to hiss out loud. He had to pull Renata's finger, whose nail had somewhat buried into his hand, off his skin. "OW Ow," he said through gritted teeth.

Renata gasped with alarm. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" her nail dropped blood onto the back of her other hand. "Are you okay!?"

The Doctor chuckled at her concern. The pain had passed. "Yes. Now shall we go outside and see what's out there?"

"I should just skip the part where I asked 'hey, shouldn't we check the monitor first'?"

"Yes, you should."

Renata shook her head.

The group exited the TARDIS to find a desolate place that seemed to be an underground tunnel. There was junk everywhere with scattered old equipment.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" the Doctor asked while he gazed around.

"Oh, I love this bit," Martha crossed her arms after feeling a bit chilly.

"Thought you wanted to go home," Donna nudged her a bit, earning a smile from Martha.

"I know, but all the same…"

"Please don't…do that…" Renata crinkled her nose when the Doctor licked his hands for whatever search tactic he was doing. She shook her head and decided to look around herself. She came across a battered machine and saw that its controls were still blinking, meaning the machine still worked...and if it still worked, then people were most likely…

"Don't move!" they heard a male voice order. The man arrived with several soldiers, all primed with weapons. "Stay where you are! Drop your weapons!" the same man, Cline, motioned everyone to put their hands up.

"We're not armed!" the Doctor raised his hands. "Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe!"

"Now wait a minute," Renata pointed a thumb to the machine behind her, "Something you did brought us to this place!"

"Look at their hands," a solder beside Cline was in awe, apparently, by the hands of the groups. "They're all clean."

"Well of course they're clean - we wash our hands!" Renata frowned but ultimately regarded their untidiness as part of an ongoing fight - war, by the looks of it.

"Process the naggy one first," Cline pointed his gun at Renata.

The blonde glared daggers his way. "I am _not_ naggy!"

" _Well_ …" she then heard the Doctor go from his spot.

"Doctor! You are - let go of me right this instant!" Renata shouted at the two soldiers who swiftly turned her for the strange machine.

"Now wait," the Doctor now got serious and went after them, or at least tried to before he was barred by the other soldiers. "We're harmless! We came here by accident!"

"What are they going to do to her!?" Martha tried getting around but the soldiers were keeping them at bay.

"You know I bet this war has really turned your minds around!" Renata scowled at the men who paid no attention to her. One of them forced her hand into a slot beside the machine. "How dare you - OW!" the machine whirred around with new, stronger lights. "This actually _hurts_! What are you doing to me!?"

"This is really unnecessary-" the Doctor, very worriedly, watched Renata continue shouting the soldiers' heads off for whatever it was the machine was doing to her.

"What do you need my tissue sample for!? You didn't even ask _permission_!" the blonde pulled on her hand in vain. The machine was not letting her go until it was finished. She sighed in relief when the slot finally let go of her hand a few seconds later. Her eyes widened at the big, ugly graze on her hand. It had an ugly 'x' mark on it.

"Move out of the way!" the Doctor had enough and pushed the soldiers away from him. "Renata?" he ran up to Renata and carefully took her hand for examination.

"That thing is still going…" Donna came to a stop behind them with Martha, her eyes glued to the whirring machine.

"I dread to think…" Renata gulped and decided not to finish her thought.

The machine finally stopped and spewed out smoke for a second. Through the smoke they could only see combat boots stepping out. When the smoke cleared, they found a petite brunette woman with frosty blue eyes staring back at them with a rather curious face.

Cline came towards them but only called upon the woman. "Arm yourself!" he gave the woman a gun and the group was stunned to see her handling it like a pro.

"But where did she come from?" Martha kept blinking to see if the woman would remain there.

"I...from Renata…" the Doctor breathed. He felt Renata tug her hand back from his and looked at her to find her already staring back at him.

"From _us_ ," she could barely form the two-worded sentence. She turned her hand over and pointed at the graze. "Your stupid blood dried on the back of my hand…"

Yes, yes he did remember. And it explained why his face went completely red.

The brunette woman smiled at them and even tilted her head. "Hi Mum! Hi Dad!"

"Oh my God, _no_ …" Renata turned away and really tried to process this before anything else happened.

"No, backup, _how_?" Donna needed to know how it was possible. There was a fully formed being that was apparently her friends' _daughter_!?

"She's exactly what you heard," but even as the Doctor confirmed it sounded like he was still trying to accept it too.

The brunette woman, on the other hand, was focused on the weapon in her arms. She maneuvered it like she'd truly been born ready for war. She hopped off the machine and walked past them still wearing that cheery smile on her face despite everyone staring at her.

"You primed to take orders, ready to fight?" Cline asked her as soon as she met up with them.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir," she answered just like any soldier would have. "Generation 5000 soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready."

Renata's mouth dropped open. She pointed a finger at the woman - who saw nothing - and started for the woman. "Oh _no_ -" the Doctor knew where she was going and yanked her right back. "Look at what they did!" she gestured at the brunette.

"Can you explain _how_ they did it in the first place?" Martha cleared her throat.

"Progenation," the Doctor answered. "Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement, and grow. Very quickly, apparently."

"But you just said she's your daughter too…?" Donna slowly reminded and kept glancing at the woman.

"That's because his stupid DNA got in there!" Renata exclaimed and crossed her arms. Of course she would have had the Doctor's dried blood on her hand, because _why not_!?

"It's not like I planned it…" the Doctor mumbled.

"Neither of us did! They stole my choice to ever have kids again!" Renata blurted with an almost red face of frustration.

It was then that the Doctor realized what was truly bothering her. After her first miscarriage, there was probably no plans on attempting for a second child. Now, whether she liked it or not, she had one.

"They didn't even ask, or explained, they just _stole_ my choice…" Renata was glaring daggers at the men. "And then if it wasn't enough they just...took her...like an object in their war."

Martha and Donna shared a look between them, feeling sorrow for their friend. Donna didn't quite understand but it didn't matter. Renata was right. They had forced a daughter out of her.

The Doctor stared at Renata who kept her attention on the moving brunette woman ahead. All the anger had washed away from Renata's face to be replaced by deep heartbreak. He didn't like it one bit. Without thinking, he walked up to her and hugged her from behind. She gasped lightly, startled of course by the action, and yet...it wasn't new to her.

* * *

_Zuriah was mad. Oh, she was mad. "I just don't understand what the problem is." She faced her desk, hiding her reddened eyes full of frustrated tears from the Doctor. "We already banished Gallifreyans and basically left them to their luck. I just want to help them, give them opportunities people are too selfish to. Why do I even bother with any of this?" she carelessly pushed away a stack of papers on the desk. "I'm not allowed to make a difference."_

_The Doctor heard enough. He'd seen how much work and effort she put into this charity. He couldn't let her throw it all away because other people were too blind to see the good in it. "Zuriah, you could find another way-"_

_"What's the point?" she repeated with even more force behind it. "Soon, I'll graduate and the chances of my family allowing me to continue this is slim."_

_"Well, there is your betrothed," the Doctor reminded, although with less enthusiasm. He'd never met the man but by what Zuriah told him, the man sounded relatively nice._

_"Doesn't matter, I need investors! People who care but there's just no people!" she exclaimed and let her shoulders slump._

_The Doctor marched up to her and hugged her from behind. She was startled by him but relaxed a short second later. There was a warmth he gave her that...she really couldn't find anywhere else, not even in her betrothed. She leaned back on him and relaxed in his arms._

_"It'll take some time, but we'll find you people who care," the Doctor promised her._

_"You're going to help me?" she asked, her surprise offending him._

_"No, I'll just let you wallow in your sorrows," he rolled his eyes. "You know I'll help you in anything you need."_

_Zuriah stared at him for a long minute, but the Doctor was glad to see her smiling a bit. "You know," she began, "I'm never going to say this again, but... I'm a little happy you got into trouble with the law. Otherwise, I would've never met you."_

_The confession left the Doctor rather stunned, but it didn't appear like she would be taking it back._

* * *

"I'm sorry," the Doctor's apology brought Renata to the present. She relished in the familiar warmth that, despite the many body counts he'd gone through, remained the same as when they were young.

"Something's coming!" the new brunette warning put all of them into defensive stances.

"It's the Hath!" Cline shouted beside her. The Hath were indeed coming towards them but we're soon met with fires from the human.

"Get down!"

"We have to blow the tunnel! Get the detonator!" Cline ordered one of his men.

"Detonating!?" Renata repeated with widened eyes. "No! We can't-" but she stopped the moment she saw Martha being pulled away by some of the Hath. "MARTHA!" she screamed and made to run towards them.

The Doctor yanked her back when he saw his 'daughter' coming into contact with the detonator. Without a second thought, she activated it. Everyone was forced to run for cover and in time because the tunnel exploded only a mere five seconds later. Rocks struck down like a shower, leaving one side completely inaccessible, the side with Martha now in it.

"You've sealed off the tunnel!" the Doctor raged against the brunette once they were back in their feet. "Why did you do that?!"

She seemed as if she believed he was a oblivious. He was missing the point here. "They were trying to kill us!"

"But they've got our friend!"

"Collateral damage," she shrugged it off like nothing. Renata gaped from behind, a slow outrage soon filling her face. "At least you've still got them," she nodded to Renata and Donna, "He lost both his men, I'd say you came out ahead."

Renata stormed up to them and pulled the Doctor back to have her go. "Martha Jones is _not_ collateral damage! No one should _ever_ be collateral damage!" her voice rose to an incredible volume that silenced the brunette and everyone around them. "And if I ever hear you say something as insensitive as that then believe me you _will_ get to know who your creator is."

The brunette was left blinking in her spot, mouth slightly ajar from the shock of being...lectured? Was that a lecture? Because it felt scarier than it probably ought to be. Donna could confirm that since her mother lectured her every day.

"We're gonna find her," the Doctor resolved but barely turned when he found himself being threatened with a gun

Cline wasn't letting them go for any reason now. "Absolutely not. You three have no guns, no marks, no fight in you… I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now, move."

The Doctor wasn't going to have one more shootout on his account. He turned in the opposite direction and started walking, making Renata and Donna ultimately do the same.

"You realize we're heading to their headquarters, right?" Renata's whisper wasn't exactly a whisper for the others. She didn't realize that.

"Yes, I'm aware," the Doctor assured her he wasn't _that_ clueless.

Donna noticed that neither were making an effort to even look at the brunette girl who was their supposed daughter. She understood it was weird - _way_ weird - but they had to break the ice at some point, right? Maybe she could help with that. She cleared her throat and moved slightly more to be beside the brunette. "I'm Donna, what's your name?"

The brunette made a face and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know, it's not been assigned."

"Well, if you don't know that, what do you know?"

"How to fight."

Donna waited for her to list more things but the brunette seemed to have finished. "Um...nothing else?"

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to see the brunette girl really that lost. "The machine must embed military history and tactics but no name. She's a generated anomaly."

"Generated anomaly?" Renata repeated bitterly then mumbled under her breath. "Because that's what I pictured when I had my baby."

"Jenny-rated…" Donna began to play with the name until she got an idea. "Well what about that? Jenny!"

"Jenny," the brunette smiled. "Yeah, I like that, Jenny."

Donna threw a smirk at the other two aliens. "What do you think, Mummy? Daddy?"

Renata seemed like a ticking time bomb the way her face scrunched and her finger pointing at Donna. " _Don't_!"

Donna blinked at the blonde. "Mum…?"

Renata groaned and took a quicker pace, ignoring Cline's call to slow down. The Doctor then threw a glance at Donna. "Don't suppose you could tone that down?"

"What? You two _are_ the parents-"

"They stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it, it's not what I call natural parentage-"

"-Rubbish! My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster, don't bother her!"

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident," the Doctor snapped. And in Renata's and his case, it was even more so true. They both lost children at some point in their lives and that was a pain nothing would ever take away.

"Er, Child Support Agency can…" Donna figured she should stop talking but her mouth kept going.

"Look, just cos I share certain physiological traits with simian primates doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?"

"I'm not a monkey!" Jenny cut in when it finally got offensive. "Or a child."

She was cut short when they finally returned to the human encampment in an underground tunnel. Renata smelled the distinct air of war. She scowled at war supplies piling up on every table in her vicinity.

"Where are we?" she asked Cline once they were together again. "What planet is this?"

"Messaline. Well, what's left of it," he gave a sigh before meeting with an older soldier to the side.

'...663 – 75 deceased. Generation 6671 – Extinct. Generation 6672 – 46 deceased. Generation 6680 – 14 deceased. Generation …'

"But, this is a theatre!" Donna said after seeing the stage up ahead. "It's like a town, or a city, underground. But why?"

"Because in a war, anything will do," Renata scowled and looked at the Doctor. "We have to get Martha and get out of here."

Cline returned with the older soldier who the group assumed was General Cobb. Like Cline, he scrutinized the group for their cleanliness.

"Found in the Western tunnels, I'm told, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the Eastern Zone, three generations back, before we lost contact, is that where you came from?" the man asked after a minute of silence.

"Eastern Zone, that's us, yeah," the Doctor jumped at the chance of an easy background story. "Yeah. I'm The Doctor, this is Renata and Donna."

"And I'm Jenny," the younger girl introduced herself.

Cobb shot her a sharp look. 'Don't think you can infect us with your peacemaking. We're committed to the fight, to the very end."

"Well, that's all right, we can't stay anyway. We've gotta go and find our friend," the Doctor noticed the stare on Jenny and wondered if she would be outcast as well due to her origins.

"That's not possible, all movement is regulated. We're at war," Cobb said automatically, but it wasn't much for Renata.

"You said it, _you're_ at war, not us," she scowled. "You've got no right to keep us here when all we wanna do is go home."

"You're on our territory, Lady, therefore you fall under our jurisdiction," Cobb argued back, further irritating her.

The Doctor set a hand on Renata's arm to keep her from snapping back. "So this war...against the Hath...who exactly are they again?"

Cobb seemed hesitant to speak, but Renata's last comment got him good. "If you're going to make us fight then we need to know who the enemy is." The smugness she carried no one could take away.

When Cobb finally began explaining, he sharply looked at Renata. "Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning, a colony where human and Hath could work and live together."

"So what exactly happened?" gestured the Doctor to the ruddy room.

"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival."

"There's nothing but earth outside, why's that?" Donna could see even the windows in the tunnel were smeared with dirt. No sun illuminated it. "Why build everything underground?"

"The surface is too dangerous."

"Couldn't have been like that all the time if they built the windows in the first place," the ginger nodded them to one closest. "And what does this mean?" she pointed to a number stamped on the wall just above a threshold.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meanings... lost in time," Cobb's answer was too casual for Renata to believe he was actually sorry about it. She assumed all his mind could think about was the bloody war.

"Exactly how long has this war been going on?" She dreaded to know the answer but it would also clarify how desperate they would be if she knew at what point in their war they were in.

"Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"That's a good system," Renata sarcastically clapped her hands together.

"What, fighting all this time?" Donna was stunned by the answer, unable to believe how simply he'd said it too.

"Because we must," Jenny said proudly, missing her parents' faces. "Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance, it's all we know. How to fight. And how to die."

"Can we just find Martha and get the hell out of here?" Renata whispered to the Doctor. She couldn't fathom the idea of staying much longer in the place.

"Mhm. General Cobb, can we take a look at one of your maps?" the Time Lord got started on that, and since the General was under the impression they would finally join the fight he led them to a table chuckfull of maps they could use. The Doctor took a glance at all of them before deciding on the one bigger. "Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?"

"Yes. Why?" Cobb replied, wondering if he was going to come up with strategies.

"Well it'll help us find Martha."

Cline shook his head. "We've more important things to do. The Progenation Machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they're active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two."

Donna and Renata had a hoot with that. Both women garnered similar offended, furious expressions.

"I'm not having sons and daughters by some great big flippin' machine!" Donna had her first go. She cast a look at Jenny and somewhat simmered. "Sorry, no offence but you're not... well I mean you're not real."

Jenny of course took that with offence. "You're no better than them! I have a body, I have a mind, I have independent thought, how am I not real? What makes you better than me?"

"Oh no, we're not saying we're better than you," Renata set out to clarify the issue there. "We're saying we have a wider perspective about life than you. The fact we don't think about war might be a good starter."

Jenny grew just as angry as her mother. "If you think-"

"At ease, soldier," Cobb cut in. "They're the ones who need to think more like you. You're the type of soldier that we need more like you if ever we're to find the Source."

The Doctor looked up from the map with newfound curiosity. "Ooh, the Source, what's that then, what's a Source? I like a Source, what is it?"

"The Breath of Life."

"And that would be...?"

"In the beginning the great one breathed life into the universe. And then she looked at what she'd done, and she sighed."

"She? I like that," Jenny said with a smile.

"It's a creation myth," Renata rolled her eyes but Cobb snapped that it wasn't.

"It's not myth. It's real," he glared at her, not that she cared very much. "That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it's here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet."

By this point, the Doctor had lost interest and gone back to the map. He yelped with delight after finding something useful in it. "Ah! I thought so! There's a suppressed layer of information in this map, if I can just…" he whipped out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the map. The map blinked to life and provided a hologram with more to the map with tunnels. "A whole complex of tunnels, hidden from sight."

Renata cleared her throat and moved over beside the Doctor, tapping his arm to get his attention. "And you really think showing that to some war-powered crazies was the best plan?" she nodded him to Cobb who was staring at the hologram with hungry eyes. "You couldn't have waited until we were on our own?"

The Doctor sheepishly smiled at her. "That...would have definitely been easier. Did I mention you look absolutely lovely today?" Renata honestly didn't know whether to laugh at his attempt of getting out of trouble with her or if to blush.

Cobb did not wait for them to finish their moment. He'd see what was presumed to be the lost temple and that they were closer to it than the Hath. That got him moving his soldiers for the battle.

"Um, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace couldn't you just stop fighting?" the Doctor stopped Cobb from leaving to follow up with some soldiers.

"Only when we have the Source. It'll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet!"

"Hang on, hang on, a second ago it was peace in our time, now you're talking about genocide!?"

"For us, that means the same thing."

Renata pushed her way through, ignoring if she was butting into the conversation or not. "Then do yourself a favor and get a new dictionary because it's not happening again!"

"Again?" Cobb repeated with reasonable confusion.

The Doctor was silent for a minute as he wondered whether or not Renata would throw his biggest action in his face. Despite their tetchy relationship, she hadn't once done that but who knew what today could be. Each day was different.

Renata straightened herself up and acted nothing but mature and noble. "There will be no genocide. Not here. Not anywhere else. Have you got that?" and then, without thinking, her hand reached for the Doctor's.

The Time Lord actually jumped in his spot at the contact. His widened eyes immediately looked to Renata but she was staring straight ahead at Cobb. He felt a strange warmth from her hand, and yet it felt rather familiar.

But of course, their choices landed them in prison.

~ 0 ~

From within their holding cell, Donna noticed more of the numbers carved onto the wall. "More numbers," she hummed in curiosity. "They've gotta mean something, right?" she glanced back at the two silent Time Lords.

Renata was sitting on the lone bench with both her arms and legs crossed. She had a particular expression of grimness Donna had never seen before.

The Doctor was just irritated they were being forced to waste time when a war was about to break out. "Makes as much sense as the breath of life story," he muttered.

Jenny did a double-take at those words. "You mean that's not true?"

"It's a myth, isn't it?" Donna turned around, now curious of the matter herself.

"Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple, something that's become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon."

"And we've just given some war-hungry soldiers the map on a silver platter," Renata spoke for the first time since they'd been placed in the cell. She wasn't angry with the Doctor, at least not anymore, but she was still upset over the situation. Martha was on the other side with the enemies, and it was obvious the humans weren't going to hold back because of it.

"We need to get out of here, fine Martha, and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath," the Doctor noticed Jenny's long stare. "What, what are you, what are you…what are you staring at?"

Jenny's lips twitched, a ghost of a smile spreading across her face. "You keep insisting you're not a soldier. But look at you! Drawing up strategies like a proper general."

The Doctor took offence to that. "No no, I'm trying to _stop_ the fighting."

"Isn't every soldier?"

"Well. I suppose. But that's… that's… technically... I haven't got time for this!" the Doctor waved the woman off and turned to Donna. "Donna, give me your phone! Time for an upgrade!"

"And now you've got a weapon!" Jenny almost laughed at the irony when she saw the Doctor's sonic.

"It's not a weapon!"

"But you're using it to fight back! I'm gonna learn so much from you, you are such a soldier!"

" _Enough_ ," Renata's quiet - but sharp - tone silenced Jenny in one second flat. "I don't ever want to hear you compare him to these deranged humans. You got that?"

Jenny quickly nodded, her eyes still wide from her initial startle.

The Doctor took refuge in Donna's phone because he certainly didn't want to get anywhere between that. Thankfully, Martha answered the phone. She was well and alive...with the Hath that were also preparing for war. Apparently, they also acquired the map the Doctor accidentally pulled up.

"We need to get out of here," the Doctor handed Donna her phone back. They could all hear the humans chanting for their upcoming war.

"And they're cheering about it," Renata said disgustedly. She pushed herself up from the bench and walked up to the cell bars. "They'll just kill each other."

"We have to get past that guard, right?" Jenny came up beside her, eyeing the distant guard from their cell. "I can deal with him."

"You?" Renata side-glanced her with a "never in your life" kind of expression. "You're not going anywhere."

"What?" frowned the young woman.

"You are not my daughter," Renata said the words so easily even the Doctor was stunned for a second. This was nothing like the Renata he met in 1913 who cared and loved for her human children. But then again, this wasn't the same situation.

"Renata, how can you say that?" Donna was the one to speak up. She kept glancing at the Doctor, waiting for him to say something but it appeared he was siding with Renata as well. "She's your daughter," the ginger told Renata then pointed at her and the Doctor. "She's _your_ daughter!"

Renata shook her head, her face hardening while she crossed her arms again. "She is _not_ my daughter! I didn't choose to become a mother here! She came out of a machine that I was _forced_ into!"

"She's a soldier," the Doctor added on, though less strained than Renata. "She came out of that machine with nothing but a soldier's personality. She _is_ one."

Donna felt for the young woman who was being rejected by both her parents. She never thought she could see such coldness from the two aliens! She suddenly extended her hand at the Doctor, motioning him to give her something. "Give me that stethoscope!"

The Doctor handed it over without question. He'd no idea what she was planning on doing with it. Strangle them till they accepted Jenny was his and Renata's daughter?

"What are you doing?" Jenny made a face when Donna moved up to her with the stethoscope around her ears.

"Just hold still," Donna listened to the woman's heartbeat for a second, smiled, then turned to the two Time Lords. "Which one of you is going first?"

Renata's face was cold as ice. She looked away, crossing her arms even tighter if it was possible.

"C'mon," Donna moved the Doctor in her place. "Listen then tell me where she belongs."

The Doctor practically rolled his eyes in front of them as he took the stethoscope and had a listen for himself. He was stunned to hear Jenny had two heartbeats...just like any Time Lady would. "Two hearts…"

"Exactly," Donna gave a strong elbow on Renata's side. "Would you like a listen?"

"No," the blonde answered instantaneously.

Donna inwardly groaned. Renata was too stubborn, and that was saying something considering all the people Donna knew!

"What's that mean?" Jenny was frowning since no one was clarifying for her.

"It means you're a Time Lady," Donna said, quite proud of herself at the moment.

"Is that…" Jenny's eyes flickered from the Doctor to Renata and vice versa, "...is that what you two are? Or...from?"

"Biologically, that's what you are," Renata muttered. "But you're an echo at most. You don't know what it _means_. It's a sum of knowledge. A code. A shared history. A shared suffering. And you don't…" she stopped herself when she felt tears pooling in her eyes. Her shaky breath was a signal of her memories resurfacing. The Doctor placed a hand on her arm, comforting her with a knowing look.

"Then take me there," Jenny said, implying this was all a challenge she was up for.

The Doctor shook his head at her. "It's gone." Jenny's smile faltered at the news. "It's gone forever."

"What happened?"

"There was a war."

"Like this one?"

Renata's sharp, sarcastic laugh made the three wince. "Never. It was _far_ bigger than...this."

"And you fought? And killed?"

"Yes," the two Time Lords answered simultaneously, sharing the same grimness.

"We killed, we cheated, lied...everything," Renata's words carried a different weight that both the Doctor and Donna noticed.

"Then how are we any different from each other?" Jenny challenged them with that. Donna smirked behind the Doctor and Renata. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, Jenny had both of them in her...down to the very tone of the question.

Renata was the first to snap out of the shock Jenny caused. She preferred to think about the current problem at hand than the daughter she was forced to have (with the Doctor). The guard soon became an easy problem to handle, with Jenny's willing participation. He never stood a chance against Jenny's light-hearted flirting.

"Fool, in war there's never a chance for love," Renata said on their way out of the cell.

The second guard was also taken care of by Jenny...with a good clock in the face. Despite the disapproval, they took the map the guard was carrying with him and started down a corridor.

"It's another one of those numbers," Donna pointed to another carving of numbers while the Doctor tried opening a closed door with the sonic. "They're everywhere."

"It's warland, Donna," Renata gave a brief, uninterested glance at the numbers. "It's probably got meaning for those who originally built the tunnels."

It didn't matter for Donna. She guessed they had a meaning that could be useful for them later on. "You got a pen? Bit of paper? Cos, d'you see, the numbers are counting down." The Doctor gave her what she needed despite agreeing with Renata. "This one ends in 1-4, the prison cell said 1-6."

"Always thinking, the three of you. Who are you people?" Jenny smiled at the three of them, unable to answer her question on her own.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said distractedly. The control of the panel was taking longer than he was expecting.

"The Doctor?" Jenny'd waited for him to elaborate but she figured he was purposely being silent again. "That's it?"

"That's all he ever says," Donna gave a shrug beside her. "That's all both of them say, actually."

Renata rolled her eyes at the look Donna gave her. "Excuse me for wanting a bit of privacy. And there's not much we can say about our names."

"So then are you both anomalies too?" Jenny tilted her head as her eyes flickered from the Doctor to Renata.

"No," went the two collectively.

Donna, however, scoffed. "Oh, come off it! You're the most anomalous people I've ever met!"

The Doctor chose to focus on the controls than the ridiculous conversation.

Jenny, though, seemed to be full of questions. "And Time Lords, what are they for exactly?"

Renata shot the young woman a hard look. " _For_?" she repeated, already sounding upset. "They're not...we're not ' _for_ ' anything. We are _people_ , dammit."

"So then what do you do?"

"We travel," the Doctor answered but wasn't really in-tune with the conversation. "Through time and space."

"They save planets, rescue civilizations, defeat terrible creatures. And run a lot," Donna decided to chime in with her own answer. "Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved."

" _I_ haven't done any of that stuff," Renata crossed her arms, but the Doctor had a comment to say about that.

"She just recently started." The blonde Time Lady huffed and shot the Doctor a glare. The Doctor, in turn, just shrugged his shoulders. "What? You did."

A short minute later, they had the door open for them. They crossed through just as Cobb's voice echoed from the distance. They were being followed and very closely too. Even though they had a full plan on just running, they were stopped by several, several, red beams crossing from one and to the other of a tunnel.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna frowned at the new obstacle because this was one she didn't think she'd be able to get through.

The Doctor decided to test how deadly the beams were by chucking in his clockwork mouse into the tunnel. The beams burst it into pieces before it could even touch ground.

"Doctor..." Renata wearily gazed at the beams. She could hear the men behind them getting far too close for her liking.

"I'm on it!" the Doctor exclaimed and did, to his credit, get to work on the controls of the tunnel. Donna, in the meantime, spotted another plaque of numbers up on the wall.

"There's more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down, the closer we get..."

"The General is coming!" Jenny's eyebrows knitted together as she assessed the incoming danger. Figuring she had to go and terminate it, she made a run back in the direction they'd come in...only to have Renata yank her right back. "What?" frowned Jenny.

"Where do you think you're going?" demanded Renata.

"I can hold them up," Jenny pointed behind them, thinking they'd be able to hear how close they were to being caught.

"And have more dead people on us? I don't think so," Renata pushed Jenny so that she stood right in front of the trio, no chance of escaping.

Jenny huffed like a child would. She turned to face the three with another frown. "But it's them or us!"

"It doesn't mean you have to kill them!" the Doctor threw that idea out there in case Jenny hadn't caught up with it.

Jenny threw both her parents crazed looks. "I'm trying to save your lives!"

The Doctor stopped working altogether - something Renata wasn't quite fond of - and turned Jenny so that she was only facing him. "Listen to me, the killing, after a while it infects you. And once it does you're never rid of it."

From the side Renata watched silently, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"We don't have a choice," Jenny reiterated to the Doctor, then looked at Renata and Donna to make sure they heard her.

"We always have a choice," the Doctor tried to say but Jenny shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly before running towards Cobb's group.

The Doctor was, admittedly, shaken by the fact his words hadn't gotten through to Jenny.

"See what I mean?" Renata bitterly folded her arms and kept a gaze straight ahead, even when she could see Donna (from the corner of her eye) giving her a somewhat sympathetic stare. "She's nothing but a soldier."

"She's trying to help," Donna tried being reasonable but Renata shook her head.

The Doctor worked fervently to take down the beams. He heard shooting from behind but he knew if he looked back and caught sight of Jenny, his work on the beams would be lost.

"Cease fire!" they heard Cobb say, and luckily it was right around the time the Doctor brought the beams down.

"That's it!" cheered Donna.

"Jenny!" the Doctor shouted behind. "Let's go!" He waited for Jenny but the woman showed no sign of coming back, or fighting. Frantically, he made the quick decision to get a head start and pulled Renata and Donna down the tunnel.

Jenny, fortunately, came running back to the tunnel a minute later but with her came the rest of the soldiers.

"Oh crap," Renata blurted, and received looks for her uncharacteristic use of language. She just didn't like the way Jenny looked bombarded by the incoming soldiers. "Cross through already!" she still shouted.

Jenny was taking aim on Cobb as if she were going to shoot him but instead fired at a pipeline above. Steam spewed from the pipeline, clouding the area. As she made to move down the tunnel, the beams sprouted again.

"No, no, no, no! The circuit's looped back!" the Doctor exclaimed in panic.

"Zap it back again!" Donna told the Doctor.

"The controls are back there!"

For the first time, Jenny looked properly scared. "They're coming!"

As much as Renata didn't want to admit, she was getting a bit frantic watching Jenny helplessly look around. "Okay, well, we gotta do something!?"

The Doctor agreed but he didn't have the controls anymore. "Wait! J-Just...! There isn't...! Jenny, I can't!"

Jenny huffed a breath after concluding she wouldn't be able to work the controls herself. "It's alright, I'll manage on my own." She sprinted in place for a few seconds before backing away. "Mother, Father, watch and learn!" She took off in a speedy run and did a series of somersaults to get through the beams. She landed on the other side with the trio in a graceful landing.

"No way! But that was impossible!" Donna laughed.

"Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely!" the Doctor looked beyond proud of Jenny and even surprised her with a hug. "You were brilliant!"

Jenny seemed to like his praise, even more his hug. "I didn't kill him." She pulled away with a big grin on her face. "General Cobb, I could have kill him, but I didn't. You were right. I had a choice." She then looked to Renata, still with the same grin on her face. "I did good, right?"

Renata knew she couldn't flatout say 'no' because, well...Jenny _had_ impressed her. "Yeah...you did." The small smile on Renata's face was enough for Jenny to hug her as well. It was fairly amusing (more for Donna than anyone else) to see the petite Jenny hug her tall mother.

~ 0 ~

Even though they were still getting away from Cobb and his soldiers, the group now had the option to walk since the beams would keep the soldiers away for a while. Jenny had positioned herself in-between Renata and the Doctor while they walked down the hallway.

"So, you travel together, but you're not... 'together'?" she asked, her head tilting from Renata to the Doctor.

The Doctor nearly choked on his saliva for the first second. "No!" he blurted.

Renata, on the other hand, stayed quiet but her mind loved reminding her that they almost were a couple long ago. "We just travel," she said in a whisper.

Now Donna, being an outsider for this moment, took note of each reaction from the Time Lords. Once again, something didn't hit well with Renata.

Jenny, for her part, didn't seem to take more interest on the subject. There was something more pressing she wanted to talk about. "What about the travelling? What is that like?"

"Ah, never a dull moment," the Doctor got back to his normal self with that question. A smile came to his face the more he talked about travelling. "It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny - sometimes all at the same time."

Renata smiled to herself because these were the same things she would hear from him when they were younger.

"Oh, I'd love to see new worlds," Jenny said in the same breathless manner the Doctor would use when he was in awe.

"You will," Donna cut in then looked at the Doctor and Renata, "Won't she?"

There was a moment in which they looked at each other, one more unsure than the other but they silently agreed leaving Jenny here was not an option. She'd be left with murderous soldiers who would no doubt turn her into one of them. Neither could bear that.

"I suppose so," Renata ended up staying, and it was enough to make Jenny go wide-eyed.

"You mean...you mean, you'll take me with you!?"

"We can't leave you here, can we?" the Doctor smiled at the petite blonde.

Jenny threw her arms around him and Renata, startling them and bringing them much closer than they were used to. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! Come on! Let's get a move on!" She pulled away and started the lead in a sprint.

"Careful, there might be traps!" the Doctor's warning flew right over Jenny's head.

"She's definitely your daughter with those listening skills," Renata found herself remarking with a low sigh.

"What!?" the Doctor, offended, turned on her with a frown on his face.

Donna laughed and brought both of their heads to her. "You're definitely getting the part of the parents now." Her comment seemed to pull the two back to reality, back to their own realities which were not so gleeful.

"I don't mean to be a parent," Renata said in a low tone. "I don't think the Doctor means to be one either."

"Why would you say that?" Donna frowned for a moment.

"We've been parents before," Renata said but then thought about her own motherhood and felt the Stu tears at the corner of her eyes. "Well, least you got to meet yours," she said to the Doctor. "Mine didn't make it to the world."

The Doctor silently nodded. He knew, of course, because she'd already told him but he didn't want her to go back to that dark place. Donna, on the other hand, looked mortified that she'd brought Renata to that place.

"Ren, I'm so sorry," the ginger apologized but of course Renata wouldn't blame her. "I didn't know…"

"We know," the Doctor nodded. "But I think Renata and I can agree that...with Jenny around we see everyone we lost. The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. To face that everyday…"

"It won't stay like that. She'll help you," Donna tried to be reassuring for them. "Hell, we both will."

Jenny came running back at the same time the firing started again. "They've blasted through the beams, time to run again. Love the running! Yeah?"

"He does," Renata jerked a thumb at the Doctor. "I like being normal and walk."

"Love the running," the Doctor had to agree and took off with Jenny first.

Renata shook her head at them, clearly disapproving. Donna wouldn't say it out loud but she thought Renata was acting like the mother again.

~0~

After more running indeed, the group of travelers finally made it into the godly spoken temple, which turned out not to be so much of a temple.

"This is a fusion-drive transport. It's a spaceship!" the Doctor was bewildered to find such a thing underground.

"What, the original one?" Donna blinked. "The one the first colonists arrived in?"

"Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time," the Doctor said.

"But this looks like it's in great condition," Renata grazed her fingers along the wall.

"It's actually still powered-up and functioning," the Doctor realized with wide-eyes.

Renata stopped to give him a certain look. "That can't be right. Compared to the conditions of the rest of the place…"

But there was a banging on the door, followed by physical cutting of it.

"It's the Hath!" Jenny exclaimed. "That door's not gonna last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's gonna break out."

But the Doctor was deep into the ship's screen. "Oh, but look, look, look, look, look! Ship's log! First wave of Human/Hath co-colonisation of planet Messaline."

"So it _is_ the original ship?" Jenny stopped her panicking for a moment. "So what happened?"

"Phase one. Construction. They used robot drones to build the city."

"But, does it mention the war?" Donna asked.

"Final entry... "Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions."

"Well, guess we know how this all got started," Renata came to stand beside the Doctor. "The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines and suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war!"

Jenny flinched after another banging on the door. "Two armies who are now both outside."

Donna had become interested in what the screen showed next. "Look at that. It's like the numbers in the tunnels."

"Hm, maybe they are important after all," the Doctor remarked.

"I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers! It's staring us in the face!"

"What is?" both Renata and Jenny asked together.

"It's the date! Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America!"

"Ohhh! It's the New Byzantine Calendar!" the Doctor realized.

"The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on! So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out, from here, day by day, as the city got built."

"Wow, good work Donna," Renata had to hand it to the ginger because she was sure neither she nor the Doctor would have solved that.

"Yeah! But you're, you're still not getting it. The first number I saw back there, was 6012-07-17. Well, look at the date today!"

"07-24," the Doctor read. "Seven days."

"What d'you mean, seven days?" Jenny asked.

"It means it's been seven days since war broke out," Renata explained.

"But they said years!"

"No. They said generations," Donna reminded them. "And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines…"

"They could have 20 generations in a day!" The Doctor ran a hand through his hair the more he thought about it. "Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend! Ohhh! Donna, you're a genius!"

"But all the buildings, the encampments, they're in ruins," Jenny still had some doubts about the story.

"They're empty," Renata pointed out. "They just need to be populated."

"Oh, they've mythologized their entire history!" the Doctor let his hands drop to his sides. "The Source must be part of that too. Come on!"

Now really curious to see what the Source was, they practically bolted from the place. In their run, they crashed into Martha. Renata was overly happy to see the woman alive and well. She didn't even care that Martha's dirt had gotten on her.

"Thank goodness you're alright!"

Martha laughed. "Of course!"

"We gotta go! We haven't got much time," the Doctor ushered the women forwards after hearing Cobb too close.

"We don't even know what we're looking for!" Donna reminded.

Martha wouldn't walk for a few seconds as she sniffed something in the air. "Is it me, or can you smell flowers?"

Renata smelled the same thing and she nodded. "Hm, you're right."

The group walked through the hallway until they came into a greenhouse, or at least that's what it looked like based on all the plants and glass walls.

"Oh, yes! Yes! Isn't this brilliant?" the Doctor was in awe as he crossed through the exotic plants. He came to the middle of the road where a pedestal stood, holding a glass sphere with a shining ball of gas inside.

"Don't tell me this is the Source," Renata circled the pedestal. "This is what everyone's fighting for."

"It's beautiful," Jenny gawked at it.

"What is it?" asked Martha.

"Terraforming! It's a third generation terraforming device," the Doctor answered.

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna would've touched one of the plans but she saw its leaves moving on it own. Definitely not risking getting bitten by some alien plant.

"Because that's what it does. All this, only bigger," the Doctor flapped his arms in the air. "Much bigger! It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally…"

The Hath and the humans broke through and appeared on either side of the travelers. As soon as they saw the other faction, they each took aim.

"You better hold your fire!" Renata warned.

"What is this? Some kind of trap?" Cobb threw her a look she returned with a glare.

"Your salvation, actually. Feel free to listen if you want to live."

The Doctor agreed with her but not in the way she spoke. It definitely made the humans more anxious to prove they were right. "You said you wanted this war over."

"I want this war _won_ ," Cobb corrected.

"You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers," the Doctor mimicked whispers to his ears. "Getting more distorted the more it's passed on. This-" he pointed at the sphere, "-is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable."

"Meaning you need to _stop_ killing each other," Renata cut in. "I mean, there's no point when this is your reality. There should be no fighting when you can all live in peace and harmony. You have the means to do so, that's a lot more than many other civilizations have. I say living above these horrible, dark tunnels where there's sun and _warmth_ has to be better, right?" the silence between the factions didn't sit well with her. Instead, it just made her angry none of them could see the best option for them. "You know what? _I'm_ calling the shots this time. In my war, I didn't get to pick what I had to do. So I'm going to make sure this one ends the way mine should have ended." She practically snatched the Source off its pedestal and threw it to the ground. "IT'S OVER!" She didn't realize what she did until she saw the sphere actually shatter and release the gases into the air. Her chest heaved up and down while it settled in her mind how frantic she was. She didn't mean to do that.

But the gases she freed started shining gold and green as a spread around them in the air. It was actually beautiful and once Renata saw it, she began to calm down. This is how her war should have ended. Because if it had ended like that, she would have still been with her family. Maybe, she would have still had her baby.

Lost in her mind, Renata missed the fact that her awed expression was being replicated on Jenny's. But, the Doctor didn't miss it. He saw it clear as day and felt his hearts warm up.

"What's happening?" Jenny asked the Doctor.

"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process," he said. "And a new world will be born."

Jenny laughed. "My mother helped do that."

Renata heard it and looked over her shoulder. She sensed the pride Jenny had, and the fact it was meant for _her_ made Renata feel...good. It wasn't the same type of 'good' that she would get elsewhere. This one was different and she didn't know if it was because it came from Jenny...a part of herself. Renata wondered if that's the feeling a mother would feel when their child was proud of them. Her hands ghosted over her stomach for a minute. Maybe her baby would've had a moment like that too.

Jenny was enchanted with the sight. And what was even better was that her mother's words had actually helped make the two factions see the light. All guns were down and a new friendship was forming. But then Jenny saw Cobb taking aim again, on Renata, and knew what he was going to do. "No!" her scream echoed as she ran towards her mother. When Cobb fired, she took the bullet instead.

Renata didn't even realize it because when she heard the bullet and turned around, Jenny was already in front of her. The soldiers took Cobb down and put their weapons out of their reach.

"No, wait! Wait!" Renata struggled to hold onto Jenny's body. The Doctor rushed to help her and between the two settled Jenny in Renata's arms.

Martha hurried to check Jenny's pulse and the bullet in her chest. At first glance she could tell this wasn't going to end well.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Donna didn't even want to ask but she had to. Things couldn't end like this.

"Jenny, you gotta be strong now, okay?" Renata scrunched her face several times to avoid the tears pooling in her eyes. "You need to hold on. Please, I…" the words were failing her. She looked at the Doctor for some help, but she wasn't stupid. She knew there wasn't much they could do.

The Doctor knew that too. They needed to wait and see if regeneration would kick in. He scooted closer to Renata so that he could better talk with Jenny. "Jenny, we've got things to do, you and us. We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose."

Jenny gave a brief nod. "That sounds good."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I wasn't good to you," Renata sniffed. "I have a daughter...and I didn't know what to do. Truth is you would be amazing. The best." She looked up at the Doctor with a small smile. "You'd have the best of your father."

The Doctor shared her smile. "And the best of her mother."

Renata felt the flutter of her hearts but all she could focus on was her daughter in her arms. "You would be amazing, Jenny. So you can't leave. You got that?"

Jenny seemed like she wanted to smile back but instead her eyes closed and the faint movement of her body faded.

"No, n-n-n-no!" Renata exclaimed. "Jenny!"

"Regeneration," the Doctor said as a reminder, but he was frantically clinging to hope as much as she was.

"There's no sign, Doctor," Martha gently said. "There is no regeneration. She's like you two, but... maybe not enough."

"But she…" Renata shuddered and held Jenny close to her. "Not again."

The Doctor watched her slowly crumble as Jenny's death really hit her. The despair was raw and, yet, familiar. They both were no strangers to this, but the Doctor felt like he needed to end Renata's pain. He had the means, after all.

He pressed a kiss to the top of Jenny's head, and surprisingly Renata's. The Time Lady was too deep in her anguish to process that. He stood up and walked directly towards Cobb, picking up a gun on the way. To say Martha and Donna were shocked to see him pressing said gun to Cobb's forehead was an understatement. But this was no ordinary death.

It was a daughter's death. That was a whole other type of pain neither women wanted to feel.

"I never would. Have you got that?" the Doctor's words were laced with darkness, but he did pull the gun from Cobb's head. "I never would!" He left the gun to another soldier then turned to face both factions. "When you start this new world. This world of Human and Hath... remember that! Make the foundation of this society. A man who never would!"

~0~

It was no surprise Renata locked herself in her bedroom, without so much of a goodbye for Martha who was leaving the TARDIS again. Even the Doctor was out of himself as he set the TARDIS down for Martha to leave.

"Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here," he said quietly. "It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox."

"I'm sorry," Martha said, but all he did was nod. It was all she was going to get.

"I'll walk you out," Donna said just so Martha wouldn't leave without any sort of goodbye.

"You take care of them, please," Martha told Donna once they were outside on the street. "I know they seem dysfunctional, but... they're good together."

Donna knew that Martha knew a lot more about Renata and the Doctor as a _whole_ , but of course Martha would never tell a stranger. "I can try but...I think it'll take a while for Renata to get over this one. Even the Doctor might take a while."

Martha nodded and stopped walking. She looked back at the TARDIS and sighed. "Be patient with them, please, especially with Renata. I know Renata can seem closed off, rude...but there's more to her than meets the eye. Took me a whole year to be actual friends with her, but I think you can do that in less time."

"Why?" Donna made an actual face that had Martha laugh for a moment.

"Because you're...you, Donna. Maybe you can do what I couldn't get Renata to do."

"Well, what does that mean?"

Martha smiled and put a hand on Donna's arm. "You'll figure it out. Good luck."

Donna didn't know what to say when Martha left. She turned back for the TARDIS, but as she headed for the blue box she felt things wouldn't be normal for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	13. The Secrets That Lie Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Jenny's death, Renata and the Doctor struggle to move on. The TARDIS, however, finds a way to bring them a bit closer with a surprise room just for Renata. Plus, Donna even gets a taste of the shifting mood thanks to the good old box!
> 
> P.S This chapter serves as a prequel to the next chapter!! It's a 2-parter, basically!

_Zuriah fidgeted while more guests entered the room she was meant to be playing host in. This was her foundation's first public event and she was more than nervous. She'd worked so hard to make sure everything looked good for this night, especially since it was basically the first event that would pave the way for investors in the future. Everything needed to go perfectly. Her graduation from the Academy was just around the corner as well, so it was a make it or break type of night._

" _Keep your feet **still** ," the Doctor startled her from behind. She squeaked - and immediately blushed for it - and turned around. "You look so nervous when it's meant to be a fun night!"_

_Zuriah fixed herself as more guests filled the room. "I am nervous because this is the night where everyone really learns about my foundation. I need everything to go perfectly so I should probably go check again-"_

" _Calm down, Zuriah. You being so nervous will help no one," the Doctor reached for her arm, comforting her. "Besides, you're not alone. I'm here and so is your family, right?"_

_Zuriah smiled softly at him. She didn't want to admit how much his mere touch gave her comfort, peace even. "Well, I guess-"_

" _Doctor?" both Zuriah and the Doctor looked back at the entrance doors to see a tall brunette coming towards them. The brunette was smiling kindly at the two, even more so when she saw Zuriah. "Good evening, you must be the leader of this foundation I've heard so much about."_

_Zuriah, though confused, smiled back at the woman. "Uh, yes. I'm Zuriah. Welcome to the Auxilium foundation."_

_The brunette woman nodded. "Asgari. This is a lovely foundation, as far as I've heard."_

" _Have you…?" Zuriah followed Asgari's gaze up to the Doctor's. "I'm sorry, do you two know each other?" she could see the Doctor was now fidgeting which, for him, was very unusual._

" _We're betrothed," Asgari answered, chuckling since she thought it was the reason for his nervousness._

" _Huh!?" Zuriah's eyes widened. "B-betrothed?" her eyes landed on the Doctor who could no longer meet her gaze. Yes, she knew the Doctor was getting ready to marry but she never thought she would actually have to meet the woman! Meeting the woman...made it **real**._

" _It's been like this for a month now," Asgari chuckled again. She reached for the Doctor's arm and gently brought him to her side. "He's always nervous about telling people."_

_Zuriah felt her hearts constrict as she stared at them both. "Con...congratulations," she forced herself to say._

_The Doctor finally met her gaze then. Like her, it seemed he was struggling. "Thank you."_

_The more she stared at him and Asgari, the more it felt like the room was shrinking in on her. "I-I, um, thank you for coming."_

" _Well, the Doctor has told my family all about this place. I think it's wonderful what you're doing here," Asgari said, but half of what she was saying wasn't registering in Zuriah's head._

_All Zuriah could think of was the Doctor was betrothed._

_The Doctor was **betrothed**._

* * *

Renata's eyes blinked open and met the darkness of her bedroom. She sat up on her bed and rubbed her face. Sensing she wouldn't be falling asleep anymore, the TARDIS went ahead and lit her room.

"Thanks," Renata said in a low whisper, but the box still heard and hummed in return.

She remained in her spot for a good five minutes before thinking about getting up. It'd been days since the Jenny incident and since then the Doctor hadn't even mentioned landing the TARDIS somewhere. Dinners had been postponed as well, and though the Doctor wouldn't say it to Renata for fear of hurting her more, he missed it. He missed the routine of having them sit together and talk about anything they wanted. He missed her.

There was just endless silence in the TARDIS now and none of the trio knew how to make it stop.

Renata eventually got herself out of bed and went for her closet. She needed to shower, whether or not she would be leaving her bedroom that day. She pulled out a long sleeved, green buttoned-up blouse and dark jeans. She was blow-drying her hair when she heard a knock at her door. When she answered it, she found the Doctor on the other side.

"Hi," the man seemed just as lost as she was.

"Hi," she greeted quietly.

"I need you to see something," the Doctor said, getting straight to the point seemed like the only way to go now.

"What?" Renata blinked. Her eyes darted to the side as if she would find whatever he wanted to show her right there.

"I just...I just found it and I think you ought to see it," the Doctor brought a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Especially since I'm pretty sure she made it for you."

"What?" Renata felt like that was her favorite word right now. A lot of the things she heard lately were warped because she wasn't in-tune with the rest of the world.

"C'mon," the Doctor gently pulled her out into the hallway. Renata, in her confusion, allowed him to take her down the hallway until they reached a door she hadn't yet seen since she'd gotten on-board (or since she was kidnapped).

"What is that?" she stared at the red door.

"Uh, well...I think it's best if you see for yourself," the Doctor gave a light shrug of his shoulders. Renata didn't know what was going on, but so far she was admittedly intrigued by the mysterious red door. She reached for the door knob and, after glancing at the Doctor for reassurance, she turned it and opened it up.

She was hit with a ray of warmth and slightly blinded by an orange and yellow glow. As she walked further in, the glow faded and once she lowered her arm from her eyes she was face to face with…

"Gallifrey?" she breathed in.

The TARDIS had re-constructed a room to look just like their old home.

Renata looked down at the mushy red grass under her feet, making her want to take off her shoes just to truly feel it. She saw the Doctor's feet coming up to stand beside her and when she looked up (still stunned, mind you) he was staring up ahead, looking more or less used to the idea now.

"I found it earlier," he said as if he'd been reading her thoughts. Even now, Renata had her mind sealed off. There would be no telepathic communication anytime soon.

Renata was still speechless. Her wide eyes looked ahead and saw the same two suns in the orange sky, along with the beautiful stars twinkling away. Dawn was coming, so it seemed, and so the silver leaves on the trees radiated like a fire was starting. The pair stood on a hill-like structure and looked down at the lake.

"She did this?" Renata whispered. "The TARDIS did this for _me_?"

Before the Doctor could respond, the TARDIS answered with one of her hums. Her driver smiled. "Guess that answers that."

Renata flipped her head in his direction, her blonde hair bouncing to one of her shoulders. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she loves you?" the Doctor said as if this should've been obvious.

Renata, however, was shocked to hear this. Her brown eyes widened till it looked like they would pop from her head. Her mouth opened but it took a while for actual words to come out. "I'm...I can't believe she would do this." She felt ridiculous but there were actual tears in her eyes. "Thank you." She started sitting down and laughed as even the grass felt real, like _home_. She pulled her legs up, knees to her chest, and gazed ahead.

The Doctor felt like she was finally getting some well needed peace. He turned to leave, intending on letting her soak it all in for however long she needed to, but she softly called out to him.

"You can stay."

He was, of course, reluctant to believe he'd heard right. He looked back down at her but she was smiling and gesturing him to sit down beside her. With his own smile, he turned around and returned to the spot next to her.

"Do you ever think about home?" she asked after a few minutes of silent staring.

"More than you would believe," the Doctor answered and side-glanced her. He didn't know where she stood with his decision to end the war on his own terms; he never had the courage to ask her everything they'd been through. "And you?"

"Definitely a lot more than I should," Renata gave a small nod of her head. "You know where my thoughts lay on this matter. I want it back...I'd love for all this to be real. See my friends again. My family."

"Your husband?"

Renata looked down for a moment. It pained her that she could not say 'yes' as quick as a widow would, as a widow _should_. "Would you like to see your wife again?" she found herself asking instead.

"Hmm, that'd be nice," the Doctor briefly smiled to himself. "We, uh, didn't have the best relationship, especially towards the end, but...if I did see her again, the very first thing I would do is profusely apologize to her."

"What for?" Renata stupidly asked. As soon as she did, she regretted it because of course he would want to apologize to his wife for running out on her to travel. "I'm sorry," she said afterwards.

But the Doctor knew she would never ask something like that to be mean. "It's alright. Asgari, that was her name she...she was a lovely woman. Our marriage was planned, like customary, and even though I made a promise to her, and myself, that I would make her happy...I failed her."

Renata felt like her stomach would churn if she kept this conversation going, but she couldn't force herself to stop. It was like a force driving her to keep asking questions like these. "Why would you say all that, Doctor? You didn't like her?"

"I didn't _love_ her," the Doctor blurted and though he seemed regretful about it for a minute, he looked at who he was talking to and smiled. It wasn't like she would tell anyone. "I've never said that out loud…" his realization was shocking and yet...somewhere in Renata's hearts there was a brief flutter. "Centuries of keeping that secret and now...I can say it out loud. I didn't love my wife. I mean, I loved her in a sense that I wanted her to be safe and happy, but...not as in...I _loved_ her." He took in a deep breath and looked at the Time Lady beside him, who was still wide-eyed. "Sorry."

"No, don't be. Sometimes letting it out is good, especially when they're all dead," Renata sighed. She lowered her legs and crossed them then put her hands over them, though her fingers seemed to fiddle with each other as she thought about her next words. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything," the Doctor watched her carefully, sensing she was about to say a secret of her own. If he was right, she'd never been given that kind of chance due to her high class position.

"My husband...Elek...he was incredibly sweet. He was polite, funny...and he loved me. Our marriage was arranged for the benefit of our families. He loved me, despite all the arrangements around us, and I grew to love him too...I was even going to have his baby, but...I didn't... _love_ him like a proper wife should."

"Really?" the Doctor's doubt was etched across his face. "But you're the pinnacle of what a wife should be. You're basically what the High Council wanted everyone else to be. A classy Time Lady."

"Well I'm not," Renata said in almost snap. It looked like she was tired of the perception people had of her...and with good reason. "I make mistakes, I _made_ mistakes. I loved my husband but not the way he deserved. I kept secrets from him, from my family, from the world. I pretended to be what I was told be...but the truth is I was the worst. Good people don't keep secrets."

"Now wait a minute," the Doctor shifted so that he could face her. "Sometimes people keep secrets because they just don't want to share it with people. And that's okay. You have no obligation to. Take a look at me. I'm the hoarder of secrets."

"Really?" Renata scoffed. "Besides the fact you ended the war, what else could you possibly have for a secret?"

The Doctor knew she was putting herself as the worst woman in the world - an exaggeration only Renata would make - and thought she deserved to know that there were people worse than her. People who liked to think they were helpers. "The reason I didn't love my wife was because I loved another woman."

Renata was stunned and yet, the Doctor didn't look like he regretted his words. In fact, it seemed like he was finally... _free_. Liberated from his century-old secret.

"Her name was Zuriah. We were young back then - she was in her last year at the Academy when I met her. She was…" the Doctor paused as he tried to come up with the perfect word to describe the young Time Lady, "...bloody special." That didn't even come close to describing her. Even now, centuries after it all happened, the Doctor couldn't find the right words for her.

Renata swallowed hard, almost pushing a lump down her throat. "I, um…"

"She was the head of the Auxilium Foundation. She created it all on her own, actually," the Doctor said proudly. "She was young but she was determined. She was the opposite of me, you see. I was just sent to her to do community hours for a misdemeanor and while I was meant to be just working with her...I fell in love with her. I shouldn't have but...it was impossible not to. She was kind, proper, and do you know what?" a big smile came to his face the more he thought about her, "I irritated the hell out of her, made her face go red like her ginger hair at least three times a day. But I knew, I always knew...that I loved her."

Renata felt like her body was shaking. She was chewing on the inside of her cheek to keep tears from forming in her eyes.

The Doctor continued to smile, though now more softly. Zuriah was not a guilty memory for him. If anything, it was a beautiful memory with a tragic ending. And now she wasn't just a memory, she was something he could talk about with someone, making her _real_. "Zuriah has been my secret for over 900 years. And she doesn't make me a bad person. She actually made me _better_. So don't you think for one moment, Renata, that you are a terrible person for having your own secrets."

Renata sniffed and looked away to the sunlit scenery in front of them.

"Oh, Renée, you don't have to cry," the Doctor gently reached for the woman to hug her. As he wrapped his arms around her, she let her tears spill from her eyes. "It's our secrets now. And you can talk about 'em with me all you want."

Renata screwed her eyes shut for a good while. Yeah, she'd continue to feel like a terrible person.

~0~

Donna was not a nosy person, least she tried not to be. But right now, when she lived inside an alien box with two aliens...who didn't exactly eat as much as she did...she needed to be nosy and go through the kitchen cupboards like mad. She didn't ask for much. She wasn't posh or anything. A simple cereal box would do but she couldn't find one.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah!" Donna nearly fell back from the counter she'd climbed onto. She threw Renata a glare for her imprudence. "Oi! If I fall I break a bone, you know?"

"Sorry," Renata sheepishly apologized and came into the kitchen. Her eyes immediately settled on the mess of cups and plates, along with the cookie boxes and other debris typically stored in the cupboards. Well, _she_ said debris and the Doctor said 'important stuff'. "Why'd you make a mess?"

"Because I'm _starving_! Don't you two eat regular food?" Donna started climbing down from the counter.

"Sorry, um...I don't really make breakfast in here. Doctor usually just grabs something or doesn't eat at all."

"Well, I'm a human! I like food on a regular basis!"

Renata smiled lightly. "Sorry, Donna. I'll start leaving some things inside for breakfast." She walked over to the counter and started gathering the cups and plate Donna had taken out.

Donna watched the blonde organize all the cups by height and then the plates by sizes. "Wow," she folded her arms. "You really are nothing like the Doctor, you know."

Renata smiled to herself. Story of her lives. "I think that's a good thing because if we were both the same - like him - the world would not be able to handle us."

Donna laughed. That sounded about right. "So...how'd you two ever fit with each other in here?"

"Did you miss the part where he stole me?" Renata's reminder, a sharpened but sarcastic one, made Donna chuckle. "He kidnapped me."

"Oh, right. That's still funny to me."

"Oh yeah. Ha, ha," Renata rolled her eyes and picked up a stack of plates to take to the right cupboard. "It was hilarious. I'm still laughing."

"But how could you be upset?" Donna couldn't finish understanding that bit. "I turned the Doctor away and the very next day I couldn't stand myself for doing it."

"Traveling was just not one of my things," Renata gave a light shrug of her shoulders. "Never has been."

"So then how come you're still here?"

Renata paused just as she was about to put the plates inside the cupboard. Donna made a good point. What was keeping her here? _You know the answer all too well_. But that wasn't the only reason. "Because the Doctor is the only other person of my kind. He's the only one who can understand me." Literally. "Our home is gone but it lives on with us, the two of us. If I leave...it'd feel like I'm losing my home all over again."

"But then why do you keep throwing that kidnapping thing in his face?"

Renata finished putting the plates inside and huffed when she closed the cupboard door. "Because he quite literally threw me over his shoulder like I was some kid! Some people don't like that, Donna. Plus, kidnapping is just _rude_."

Donna's lips stretched into what threatened to become a laugh. "Yeah, that's fair."

Renata's expression looked like she was asking Donna how long it took her to realize that. Still, the blonde moved to the last cupboard and opened up its double doors. "Oh," her face fell for some reason.

"What?" Donna turned in that direction and peered closer to see an empty cupboard.

"I had some snacks in here but I guess we must have finished them. No matter," she closed the doors and turned around with a big smile on her face. "We can go out. You want to go out?" Donna blinked. She almost looked around to make sure Renata was talking to her and not someone else in the room. Renata could assume what the ginger was thinking of and laughed. "I meant you, Donna."

"Oh…" Donna set her hands on her hips, not about to feel embarrassed. "It's just I've been here for a few months and you've never actually spoken to me this much...much less invited me out."

"I haven't, have I?" Renata bit her lower lip, clearly feeling guilty. "Sorry. I'm, um...I'm not that good making friends," she admitted. "It's a skill I never really mastered in this regeneration. I guess it just comes with the fact that I hid for a good part of this life."

"Come again?" Donna blinked, confused since she knew next to nothing about Renata.

"Sorry, guess I never told you about that either," Renata scratched the top of her head. "Well...would you like to have some breakfast? I know of this one place in New York. Lovely family-owned restaurant."

"Seriously?" Donna eyed the blonde as if she would rescind the invitation in the next moment.

"Yeah," Renata nodded her head, fairly certain about it. Maybe it was time to stop being so secluded. If this was the life she was choosing to live - inside the TARDIS with the Doctor - then she had to start doing some changes. She could start by actually talking to Donna, even if it was just for a bit.

"I guess so...should we get the Doctor?"

"Let's let him be," Renata took the lead in heading out. "He wanted to get some work done on whatever new contraption he was building."

"Don't sound too convinced it's going to work," Donna remarked as they got into the hallway.

Renata looked over her shoulder with what Donna would say was a knowing smile. "Because it probably won't."

If Donna didn't know any better, she would say that Renata knew more about the Doctor than she led on.

~0~

**New York City, 2009.**

Renata seemed to know her way down the city streets as she led Donna down a bustling neighborhood. It seemed like a Latin community, Donna judged by the many places that had Spanish names.

"Don't you think the Doctor will notice we're gone?" she asked Renata after a while of just walking. "Not to mention the fact you've moved his TARDIS?"

Renata just shrugged. She didn't look very concerned. "Don't think so. I'm telling you when he starts making contraptions he's gone for ages."

"How would you know, though?" Donna's question made Renata pause at an intersection.

Quickly though, Renata shrugged again in her best casualness. "Just what I deduced since I met him."

Still, Donna was looking a bit doubtful.

Renata made a turn to the right and walked a few buildings down before stopping in front of a local restaurant. The Castillo Mexicano was the name of the place. It didn't really stand out except for its bright green sign and curtains. Still, it smelled kind of good.

"You'll love the food here," Renata promised Donna as she pulled the glass door open for them.

"I didn't take you to like Mexican food," Donna mused. She looked around the spacious restaurant and smiled at its comfy atmosphere it gave.

Renata took her towards an empty booth by the glass window and slid down one side. "I tried it and I liked it. That's what happens when we taste new things."

"Oi, I'm not a child," Donna rolled her eyes.

"Just in case you were having any doubts. I came across this place when they were first setting it up," Renata picked up one of the menus, even her smile looking nostalgic. "Their food was homemade and...it was full of family traditions."

Donna picked up her own menu but even as she studied it, most of her attention was on Renata. "Yeah...the whole family and home thing seem to be your theme."

Renata playfully rolled her eyes. "Family is all we have, Donna. Be thankful you still have yours, as well as your home." Donna put her menu down and watched Renata for a good minute, probably even more time had Renata not caught her. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"You're just...odd." Donna hated how simplistic she'd sounded when that hadn't been what she wanted to say. "I meant to say...you don't make sense. You and the Doctor...you never talk about where you're from or who you really are. It just makes you look odd in my eyes."

"Donna, I'm not going to share my life story with you when I barely know you," Renata pointed out what she thought was a good point. How could she share her secrets with someone she didn't really know?

"Well who's fault is that?" Donna wasn't afraid to retort. "I'm always here. I like you. I like to think we're friends but... sometimes it looks like you can't trust me."

"It's not that... it's more like…" Renata sighed. "Things about me...are things that the Doctor can't know about. Don't ask me why because the answer is he just can't. And then other things... they're _mine_ , you know? My life is one that-that you couldn't possibly understand."

One of Donna's eyebrows rose, her expression then turning into what one could describe as offence. "What do I look like to you? An idiot?"

"No, Donna. Of course not-"

"-then stop acting as if I was one." Donna's tone was harsh but not misplaced. Renata could understand her frustration and she wouldn't fight Donna on it.

In some parts, Renata liked Donna for it. Not anyone would be as snappy as Donna was, but Donna never snapped to be rude. She did it when someone wasn't listening to her, when someone needed a good snap back to reality. That was definitely a quality needed if you were going to travel with the Doctor.

"Alright blondie," Donna leaned forward on the table, ignoring Renata's startled look due to her sudden nickname, "Tell me something outrageously confusing about you that I'm not supposed to understand."

"Donna, I can't-"

"-you're the one who said I couldn't possibly understand, so c'mon." Donna made a gesture for Renata to spill. "Tell me something."

Renata couldn't deny there was an urge inside her pushing her to say something secretive about her, something that could perhaps quench the loneliness she felt from losing Martha, the only person who really got to know her. Her lower lip became like gum in that moment. "...like what?"

"I don't know, take your pick. Anything you want."

Renata did think of one thing but she never thought about admitting it to anyone. Even confessing that to Martha had been an accident and she practically begged the woman not to tell the Doctor. "And you won't say anything to the Doctor?"

Donna groaned exasperatedly. "No! Of course not! This isn't high school!"

"What's high school?"

Donna face-palmed herself. "Just talk bloody woman!"

Renata's shoulders seemed to slump forwards as she gathered courage to speak. "Well...this is something that truly makes me ashamed." Apart from other things, anyways.

"What is it?"

"You know that the Doctor and I - we change our faces when we're going to die, right?"

"Yeah. Kinda weird but then again you _are_ aliens, so…"

"And you know about that war, right? The one that basically ended our home planet?"

"Also yes."

Renata released a heavy breath. "This-" she made a gesture at herself, "-is my 10th regeneration so I have 2 more and then...I'm done. But...during the end of my last body, during our war...the High Council offered me a deal. This deal, if I took it, would grant me a whole new cycle of regenerations."

Now this piqued Donna's interest. Even as Renata explained, using the briefest words, Donna knew that this deal had a whole lot more to it than what she was being told. "What'd you have to do to get it?" she finally asked.

"I had to persuade someone not to do something catastrophic," Renata wasn't sure if the Doctor had told Donna everything about the Time War and she was most certainly not going to tell Donna herself. That was up to the Doctor.

"How come they went to you for that deal? Why not someone of their own fancy council?"

"Because...my sister...was part of that Council." Even as Renata told the story, she still felt that raw anger towards her sister for bringing up the horrible idea that she go and talk the Doctor out of using the Moment. It made Renata feel like a tool for the Council. She loved her sister, she really did, but that was one of two things she would never forgive her sister for. "My sister thought that if anyone could do this task, it'd be me."

"...and did you do it?"

"No," Renata shook her head. "But I did get the new cycle."

Donna paused and looked at Renata for her words. That didn't make sense, but the more Donna stared the more shifty Renata got...until Donna realized what that meant. "Oh my God! You double-crossed them!"

Renata let her head hang in shame, admitting that she had indeed. "I was so mad with them...with my sister...so I did it. I lied and said I'd take their deal, but I made them give me the cycle first by telling them I was embarking on a treacherous journey...and then once I had the new cycle...I ran. I scammed them…"

"Oh my goodness, Renata!" Donna started to laugh. "I didn't know you could pull something like that!"

"Please don't tell the Doctor. He doesn't know about that," Renata pleaded. Her face was red from embarrassment and shame. "It was such an awful thing to do…"

"Oh, they had it coming," Donna sobered slowly and noticed Renata's outright terrified expression, probably out of fear that her secret would be told. "Oh c'mon, Ren. I'm not saying anything. I told you I wouldn't."

"Thank you," Renata said quietly. "I'll regret that for the rest of my lives but…" her face scrunched the more she thought about those moments. Her hand balled on the table. "I was just _so_ mad. I'd lost so many things already - my husband, my own baby, a good part of my family - and then my sister comes up with this idea to save their own skin? I was _furious_."

"Hey, anyone in your place would've done the same," Donna said, deciding not to even touch the fact Renata confessed to having a baby. It already seemed like a raw topic.

"I don't know," Renata shook her head. "My husband, he was always so kind...he would've been ashamed of me. And the Doctor? He says I'm a good person who doesn't run out on anyone who needs help…" a light, humorless laugh slipped through her lips, "If only he knew who he was travelling with."

Literally.

"Call me crazy, but I don't think the Doctor would judge you. He doesn't tell me a lot about your home but I gather he wasn't very fond of that Council. He might have a good laugh, actually."

Renata severely doubted that. "So, there you go. There's one of my secrets."

"And do you feel better?" Donna's knowing smile made Renata roll her eyes.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't...I don't really know how this whole friendship thing goes. With Martha it was just different cos we were stuck together for a whole year and...well...she stuck her nose into my journal."

"Yeah, I won't be reading any diaries," Donna made a face, actually getting Renata to chuckle. "But being friends isn't that hard. You just have to trust me. And you can start trusting me by filling me in on things from time to time."

"I guess I can do that," Renata shrugged and looked at the counter. She noticed the family owners were bickering - or probably arguing - amongst each other. She wondered what it was about.

"So then, let's try some of that breakfast thing and we can keep talking. You can hear all about my terrible relationship in year 11. It was so awful."

Renata smiled softly at the ginger. There was a comfortable feeling she was beginning to get.

"Good morning," a young waitress stopped by to take their order. "What can I get you?"

"I'll take the chilaquiles with a vanilla milkshake," Renata ordered without even looking at the menu.

"That's a nice combination," the waitress chuckled as she jotted the order down. "And for you, miss?" she looked at Donna.

"Oh, um…" Donna skimmed the menu and ordered the first thing she saw, which was the huevos rancheros.

Afterwards, it became easier to talk amongst each other. Renata wondered if it really was this easy to make friends. Maybe Martha had it right. Still, Renata was cautious of how much she told Donna about her previous lives. She had to keep anything out that would give Donna clues of who she was to the Doctor before.

And she even got to learn more about Donna and the human lives in general. When Renata used to live amongst them, in hiding, she never really got to learn about them. She was always more focused on staying hidden, staying low. Even with Martha, Renata hadn't been the least concerned with learning more about humans while she was fighting against the Master.

It was kind of nice.

Too bad 'nice' didn't tend to last very long for her.


	14. Gabby Gonzalez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata is the one to propose they investigate the monsters attacking New York. She just doesn't know it'll lead her and the group to meet a young woman that will forever change their lives, especially Renata's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.
> 
> P. S: I have created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.

The Doctor was honestly baffled right now. He'd been working on a new device meant to eventually upgrade his sonic when he'd heard the terrible screams from Renata. His first thought was that she was hurt, or that Donna was hurt, so he _ran_. He ran out of his workshop and down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him. Coming into the console, however, he just saw Renata and Donna with really pale faces and, frankly, breathing hard as if they'd just ran for their lives.

"What - what is going on?"

Renata had the pinkest face he'd ever seen. Her hair was disheveled - probably the most since he'd ever met her - and her clothes were skewed. It was the same situation with Donna.

"What happened to you both?" the Doctor hurried up to the two women to inspect them upclose.

"There's a _monster_ in New York City, that's what!" Donna shouted abruptly, startling back the Time Lord...until he realized something else.

"When did we land in New York?"

"Not the point!" huffed Renata, making the Doctor turn around to her. "We were just attacked by some creepy monster who turned out to be a _human_!"

"What?" the Doctor's blank face was, admittedly, adorable but Renata was more upset than she thought to pay him full attention.

She groaned and threw her hands into the air. "Gah! Just listen!"

* * *

_Renata had really just wanted to show Donna some sights in New York now that they were there. She lived for a couple years in New York so she knew some places that might still be around. She also knew how to take the subway and so she brought Donna along for the ride, thinking it would be a nice experience too._

_Donna wasn't really a fan of the crummy subway, but she wouldn't burst Renata's bubble. The blonde had finally seemed to get the idea that they could in fact be friends. Plus, it was kind of adorable. Renata was not the Doctor at all, but in her domain Renata could be just as good as the Doctor._ _Before coming to the subway, Renata had shown Donna a couple shops she swore were so great. They were family owned - big shocker - and sold handmade things. Things with sentimental value. Renata was so animated about the entire community. It was endearing._

_So, Donna let her lead them to Subway to see Central Park. But on their ride in the sub, a commotion started._

_There was a big monster - no doubt alien, though - that burst through the compartment ahead of them. People screamed, terrified, as the creature growled and snarled at them._ _It nearly attacked one young woman had Renata not pulled her - harshly, she'd add later - away._

_"What is that thing?" the girl shrieked. "And why does it look like me!?"_

_It was then that Renata and Donna realized the woman was right. The creature was bigger, almost wolflike, but essentially wore the same clothes down to the yellow scarf just like the girl. The face was the same, along with the dark brunette hair._

_"Oh, oh God she's right," Donna couldn't stop blinking. "But how'd that happen!?"_

_"I have no bloody idea!" Renata exclaimed. "How would I know that!?"_

_Donna threw her a look. "Because you're a Time Lady! The Doctor always knows!"_

_"Cos he's stupid smart and half the time he just gets lucky!" Renata frantically argued. She looked at the windows and saw the beginnings of the next stop. "Okay, we just gotta jump!"_

_"But that's what the Doctor did with me when we first met!" Donna almost laughed at the irony when Renata snapped at her to be serious._

_"We can't jump!" the woman, who was still clinging to Renata's hand, fervently shook her head. "It'll just follow! And it could hurt others!"_

_Renata only paused to look at the woman in surprise. The woman was about to be eaten by a version of herself and she was thinking about others? That was refreshing._

_"And that's the look the Doctor gets when he's fascinated by someone!"_

_Renata groaned loudly. "Donna!"_

_"Just saying!"_

_"Um, hello?" the woman pointed them at the incoming monster. "It's getting closer to us…"_

_Renata shook her head to get herself focused. "Right! Okay! It looks like you down to the same scarf - which mind you, could stand to be hemmed a little-"_

_Now it was Donna who groaned. "Not the time for Mum talk!"_

_"So, it looks like you, have the same faces you, and…" Renata looked between the two in question, racking her head for a quick solution, or at least a temporary solution that would guarantee their survival. "Okay!" she grabbed the woman by the shoulders and turned her around. "Do me a favor and don't look at it!"_

_"What!?"_

_"Don't look at it! Don't think about it!"_

_"But how am I going to do that!?"_

_"By jumping first!" Renata promptly pushed the woman towards the back of the compartment where the door would naturally open for them since it connected them to the next compartment of the train._

_Donna scurried behind them before the creature could get them, but it was hot on their trail. Renata made the woman jump on the next stop's platform and then had Donna do the same. She barely made it herself but that also meant the creature had the same luck._

_"It's still coming!" the woman had taken a peek after landing on the ground._

_"I said don't look at it!" Renata snapped, making the woman flinch and quickly duck her head. "Now run!" She practically picked the woman up and shoved her forwards to start that run._

" _Renata! That thing's getting too close!" Donna shrieked from behind. The creature was swinging its arms to to throw anything at them, whatever was in its reach._

" _It's probably following her!" Renata deduced as the creature continued to look like the strange woman running in front of her._

" _How do we stop it!?"_

_Renata had no bloody clue. The creature had to have been using some sort of psychic connection with the woman - no idea how it was doing that, but it was - so they needed to break it and then hopefully the creature would either disappear or revert back to its original shape. "Do you have a mirror!?" she suddenly shouted to the woman._

" _Huh!?" the woman looked over her shoulder, almost regretting it because she'd gotten a glimpse of the nearing creature._

" _A mirror! A compact mirror! You have one!?_

_The woman had no idea what Renata could possibly want with a compact mirror, but if it helped stop this creature from eating them…_

" _Here!" she tossed her mirror over her head, leaving Renata to jump and catch it._

_Donna was utterly confused. "A mirror!?" she bellowed. "What the hell are you going to do with a m-"_

_Renata had stopped running all of a sudden and raised the compact mirror over her head. The creature got sight of its reflection and in two seconds flat it collapsed on the ground._

_Both the woman and Donna skidded to a stop and turned around to see just a regular man lying on the ground._

* * *

"Hold on, so this creature was just a _man_? A regular, human man?" the Doctor scratched the side of his head. "Well that doesn't make sense."

"What usually does around you!?" Renata threw her hands in the air again.

"Oi, I wasn't even near this when it happened!"

"It had the ability to change this guy's entire appearance and styled it after that girl. I doubt it's the only one out there."

"So what you're saying is…?" a strange smile came to the Doctor's face all of a sudden, "...you want to go back and investigate?"

Renata looked away, clearly not wanting to admit it. "Don't start with me," she warned, but it was too late. The Doctor was smiling so widely, so smugly, Renata wanted to smack it off him.

"What's happening? What are we doing?" Donna's eyes flickered from one alien to the other. "Are we going back there? To get our faces eaten?"

"Well, first, we need to do a couple exams before we go on and investigate," the Doctor turned swiftly for the console, one finger raised in the air as he listed off the things they needed to do first.

To put it shortly, those small things took them an entire day. At least by then, they had somewhat of an idea about what they might be dealing with. Though honestly, if someone asked Renata, they really didn't have a clue yet. Even as the Doctor followed a trace of the same psychic ability of the creature to a random laundromat, Renata was sure he knew next to nothing about what was going on.

"You realize we're breaking in, right?" Renata groaned as the Doctor used the sonic to get them inside the laundromat. "This is a legitimate business that you are breaking into!"

"For good reasons, mind you," the Doctor tapped a knuckle against the odd metal helmet strapped to his head.

"There is never a good reason to break in!"

"Even less so when you look like a weirdo," Donna had to remark about the odd helmet. "Those wires look like something out of Frankenstein's story."

"Oi!" the Doctor threw both women looks for being so rude.

They walked into the laundromat and looked around for anything obvious that would stand out. But, it just looked like a regular laundromat.

"I'll go search in the backroom," the Doctor pointed at the shut door at the end of the room. "There's always things in the backrooms."

"Oh, Doctor, don't go touching stuff, alright?" But even as Renata warned him not to, she was already following him.

Donna smiled to herself and followed too. She wouldn't say it, but Renata and the Doctor tended to act like a married couple.

"There's nothing here," Renata sighed as she took in the rather crummy room full of supplies.

They then heard the front door opening, indicating someone had walked in.

"Is it the monster?" Donna whispered in fear.

The Doctor doubted a monster would just casually walk in like nothing. He still cautioned the two women to stay back while he went to go check it out first. Just as he'd gotten to the backroom door, someone opened it and swung a bat at him.

"Doctor!" Renata cried as the Doctor fell to the ground. She dashed forwards and dropped to his side. "Oh my God, Doctor, are you alright?"

"It's you," they heard Donna say.

Renata paused for a second to look up and see the same woman they'd ran into in the subway now standing in front of them with a bat tightly in her hands. "It _is_ you."

"It's you," the woman blinked.

"Oh, we get it, it's all of you," the Doctor groaned and rubbed the side of his head. His helmet had fallen off but even then that whack really gave it to his head.

"Did you three break in?" the woman demanded. "A detective should know better!"

"A detective?" blinked Renata, quickly glancing back at Donna. "You think I'm a detect-"

"Well, how else would you have known how to take down that creature from yesterday?" the woman swung the bat so that its top was pressed against the ground. "But I don't get it, who's him?"

"Oh, sweetie, we're not-" Renata had began to say when the Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the woman.

"Special agents Doctor, Cartwright and Noble of UNIT!"

"UNIT?" repeated the woman, though didn't appear to be that confused. "You mean that organization that goes after extraterrestrials?"

"Yup! That's the one! And you are?"

The woman folded her arms and took a moment to study the three intruders. The ginger looked just as confused as she was while the blonde woman seemed more authoritative than the man who was far happier than what he should be. "Gabriella Gonzalez," she finally spoke after a minute of silence. "Gabby."

"Alright, Gabby," the Doctor said with a far wider smile than before, "So sorry about the whole breaking-in. Didn't mean to, we just sort of ended up here. We'll be on our way!" he picked up his helmet and swiftly yanked Renata by the arm. "Donna!"

Gabby was left blinking while the trio left in a hurry. "Hold on," she crinkled her nose. She ran out the laundromat and followed them down the sidewalk. "I don't know who you are!" she called after them. "Nor why you would break into my family's laundromat!"

"Really sorry about that!" Renata apologetically looked over her shoulder since the Doctor was still dragging her with him. "I try to keep him out of places with locks but he sort of does the opposite of what I say!"

"Hey!" went the man in question. " _You_ wanted to investigate!"

"So investigate!" Gabby's choice of words stopped the pair and Donna. The two aliens turned around, wearing similar expressions...one that would be described (by Donna) as awed.

"What did you say?" the Doctor blinked.

Gabby seemed to exhale in annoyance. "I said to investigate! Have you taken a look at our streets lately?" she made a gesture at the sidewalk, making the trio realize there weren't a lot of people outside. Maybe just two or three. "Everyone's terrified lately because of these weird things that are happening. The only people out are those who need to work."

"What kind of weird things have been going on?" Renata had to ask, even surprising the Doctor since she hardly ever wanted to keep digging on these matters.

"Sometimes people's skin just start to, I don't know, bubble?" Gabby shook her head. "And then there's this feeling of dread. It's palpable in the air, can't you feel it?"

"I...I guess," Renata frowned.

"Keep investigating, please," Gabby pleaded. "You-" she pointed at Renata, "-weren't so scared yesterday when the monster attacked us. If someone can figure out what's going on, it has to be you."

"Oh c'mon," Donna stepped up to be next to Renata, "We gotta help, right?"

"Well of course!" the Doctor let Renata's arm go. "I've got somewhat of an idea. Do you believe in ghosts, Gabby?"

Gabby made a face at the question, but the Doctor motioned for her to follow along with them. "I don't...really know…"

"I sure don't," huffed Donna. "They can't be real!"

"Then how would you explain what you say yesterday?" challenged the Doctor. He was looking quite smug, indicating that he already knew exactly where he was going now. He was leading them down the sidewalk, towards the park where the TARDIS was waiting for them.

"I don't know," Gabby shrugged. "All I know is that it felt like that creature was reaching into my mind…"

"Probably how it connected to you," Renata muttered. "It's how it knew what you were thinking of, knew your fears…"

"So you fear yourself?" Donna said out of confusion since the creature had taken after Gabby's appearance.

"Oh don't start," the Doctor waved a hand at her. "The creature was in fact a non-corporeal being. A very powerful one judging by the traces it left."

"Non-corporeal…?" Gabby repeated, obviously not familiar with the term. It just looked like a monster, really.

"The creature wasn't really a creature. It was just inside the man's head and messing with yours," Renata explained in what she hoped was a better way than what the Doctor usually would give. "It projected a telepathic impression of your worst fear."

"Ah, so totally not local," Gabby pursed her lips together. "But then how'd they get to New York?"

"That's what we were trying to figure out back in the laundromat before you gave this-" the Doctor raised his helmet, "-a good whack. You've got some strong arms."

"Sorry," Gabby said quietly, even lowering her head in guilt.

"Don't worry," Donna gave the young woman a light nudge on the side. "I would've done the same thing if I found him like that too."

The Doctor deadpanned Donna, but felt even more offence when he heard Renata snicker. When Renata felt his gaze, she quickly stopped with wide eyes.

Eventually, the Doctor moved on and stopped just a few feet away from the TARDIS. He planted the helmet on Gabby's head, startling the woman since it was pretty heavy. "You damaged the ocular circuit but I've made some adjustments. You should be able to see the locals."

Gabby didn't understand what he was talking about but she soon got her answers when she looked ahead.

They were like ghosts. Silver, glowing creatures flying in the air with elongated arms.

"I call them pranavores," the Doctor said. "They're benign, harmless, invisible creatures that magnify empathic fields. They feed off the excess of positive emotions, like excitement."

"They feed off human emotion?"

"Empathy, mostly. It's an exchange. They're the archetypal good vibe. You give out, they give back."

"I want to see!" Donna exclaimed.

Gabby chuckled and took the helmet off so that Donna could take a turn. Donna was instantly fascinated by the glowing creatures. "You mean to tell me these things are always here? Just floating in the air?"

"Yes, Donna," the Doctor smiled. "But they're harmless."

"Well yeah but that doesn't mean they're not creepy!"

"Oh, they're part of this world, actually."

Now Gabby and Donna - even Renata - looked at the Doctor as if he were crazy.

"They're local?" Renata said quietly. "But...you mean Earth actually births these creatures?"

The Doctor's smile changed with her. It was like he was happier explaining to her and her curiosity. Perhaps it was due to the fact they spent the better half of their time bickering with each other. "You know all planets have them. Earth is no exception, Renée."

"I didn't know that," Renata's eyes looked up to the sky as if she could see the creatures. There were a lot of things she didn't know and it mostly stemmed from stubbornness. The Doctor had offered to teach her what he knew - which was probably everything - but she had refused with the reason being she wasn't interested and it didn't do her any good.

"Who _are_ you?" Gabby's question drew the pair's attention to her. She was watching them with fascination, the growing smile on her face being natural with such a situation.

"Doctor, Renata and Donna," Donna had introduced them all while she busily gazed at the creatures. "Don't worry, you get used to the nonstop talk from the Doctor."

"Hey!" the Doctor scowled.

"And when you say 'other planets'..." Gabby scratched the top of her head, clearly still trying to make the connections. "You actually mean...like...space...and…"

"It's all out there, Gabby," Renata smiled at the woman. "Part of UNIT, right?"

"Aha…" but Gabby still didn't look like she completely understood. "So these creatures…"

"Ah! One just tried touching me!" Donna had swiftly took the helmet off her head, nearly tossing it in the air.

"Donna, it won't hurt you," the Doctor reminded her, but Donna didn't care.

"Here, spaceman," she promptly held the helmet for him to take. She was done with it.

The Doctor took it, rolling his eyes, but he then looked down at Renata. "Renée, would you like a try?"

Renata eyed the helmet with clear dislike. It was big, odd and - being honest - kind of ugly but Renata's expression suggested she was more curious than ever. The good thing was that the Doctor knew it, so he put the helmet on for her. She winced as the weight of the helmet settled on her, but once she opened her eyes and saw the creatures…

She was mesmerized.

They were beautiful. They were like silvery ghosts floating in the air. She had never seen anything more peaceful than this. They were minding their own business, going on about their lives…

She found it beautiful.

"They're like giant butterflies, huh?" Gabby's voice pulled Renata back to the present. The blonde turned sideways and was able to see Gabby's knowing smile.

"Butterflies?" Renata repeated, letting the new name test itself as she said it again. "Butterflies? I'm not sure…" She turned her attention away and gasped when she saw a horrible darker gray creature - not at all like a butterfly - floating in the air. "Ah! Doctor, what the hell are those things!?"

"What?" frowned the Doctor since he couldn't see anything.

"They're attacking the Pranavores!"

"Oh! Oh keep an eye on them for me, will yah? I'll be back!" the Doctor rushed towards the TARDIS, disappearing as he said.

"What - Doctor!" Renata practically stomped a food like a child would. "What's me 'keeping an eye on it' supposed to do!?"

"He just went into that box?" Gabby tilted her head at the blue box, eyes wide as she wondered what could possibly be inside that tiny thing.

"Hold on!" the Doctor re-appeared but came up to Renata, snatched the helmet off her head and placed it on his own.

"Seriously!?" the blonde whirled around, her hair messy on top due to the helmet. She saw he'd brought something new this time, almost like a metal microphone that he attached its curly wire to the back of the helmet.

"What are you going to do, spaceman?" Donna watched him turn a knob on the helmet.

"Just talk and try to reason with them, of course," the Doctor smiled like an idiot would before he addressed the creatures. They really looked more like arachnids with glowing red eyes. "Hello! I'm the Doctor! Under the convention fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation, I request congress. You are warned that this world is protected. Please identify yourselves."

' _Who dares disturb the silent hunt?_ ' responded a gruff, slow voice.

"Are they talking now?" Renata assumed judging by the Doctor's expression. He seemed relieved which could only mean something in this crazed plan had gone right.

_'Who dares breach the holy veil of quiet?'_

"Sorry about your, uh, holy curtains," the Doctor paused but he wasn't really sure what that meant so he would skip asking the question, "They patterned or plain? My home furnishings are full of holes! Just want to have a little chat."

"Deliberately annoying them is a tactic, right?" Gabby whispered to Donna.

"Eh, it's a new thing every time," Donna admitted.

_'You are substance. You have the inferior, crude density of flesh and yet I can sense your psychic communications. How dare you speak to us? You defile our sacred silence with your disgusting nose.'_

The Doctor would ignore that hurtful comment about his nose due to the matter at hand. Though he might take a good look at his nose in the mirror lately. "Why are you here?" he demanded. "Where are you from?"

_'The prey dares question the hunters? In our place of origin, the fleshkind also tried this and now they and everything they knew have been consumed! Your world is honored with being the second place - the new hunting grounds!'_

"Oh dear, slight ego problem," the Doctor remarked.

"Oh, so maybe you might get along then," Renata blurted and earned herself a sharp glance from him in response. She blushed in embarrassment after realizing she hadn't said that in her mind like she planned to.

"You have committed acts of aggression upon residents of this planet, both psi-form and flesh, stop immediately or face the consequences!"

' _All psi-forms are our prey! All flesh! This world is ours! **You** are ours! We will devour you!_' one of the creature moved forwards, making the Doctor step back as he assumed he'd be attacked. Instead, each of the creatures latched onto the community workers in the park.

"What's happening?" Donna noticed how each of the workers yelped then progressively became more and more languid in their work. That couldn't be normal.

"What are they doing, Doctor?" Renata demanded. "What they say?"

"Well, first there's a telepathic attack-" the Doctor pulled half of the helmet off to see the transformation from both perspectives, "A magnification of a person's worst fear."

Because slowly, each of the humans' skins started bubbling like a hot soup. Afterwards, their bodies would elongate and their eyes would glow red.

"Then, if the person is susceptible, the Cerebravores use them as a Host to manifest physically."

"And thus we get the creatures," Renata blinked with wide eyes as she watched the humans turn into the Cerebravores. "That's what attacked on the subway. They feed on fear, then? Dark emotions?"

That did not settle right with her.

Because she was always scared…

Fearful…

"They turn people into their own worst fears?" Gabby blinked in horror.

"It looks like that but it's just a psychic projection," the Doctor explained, though it didn't make anything better. "Ingenious. They generate fear both inwardly to the Host and outwardly - visibly - to potential new Hosts."

"Whatever happens, I don't want to end up like that,' Donna meant that as a warning for the Doctor.

"Th-this is a lot to take in…" Gabby dug both her hands into her head, truly looking like she might just run away from it all.

"Hey," Renata turned to the young woman and walked up to her. She gently brought Gabby's hands back to her sides and offered Gabby a kind smile. "I understand, but right now...being in the loop...it's far better than being blissful. Plus, if you know then...you can help us put a stop to it."

Gabby felt like the warm smile on Renata's face was one of a mother's, like one that would lift your spirits after a bad day. Actually, that's the whole vibe Renata gave off right now. And after what she'd been through, Gabby could relish in it. "Okay," Gabby exhaled after a moment. She nodded to herself, willing herself to be brave and do something extraordinary for once in her life. "What do we do, then?"

Renata's smile widened. She turned back to the Doctor, meeting the man's fond gaze. He'd watched her do what she did best: make someone feel better. And it was done in such a delicate way. A way that only _she_ could do.

"Ahem, what are we going to do, exactly?" Donna was no fool. She'd seen the little exchange between the aliens and almost scoffed at herself for not getting it sooner. But right now wasn't the time to make fun of them. She could say that for a later time. Right now, it was time to get rid of those ugly invisible monsters.

"Well," the Doctor cleared his throat when he realized he'd dozed off about Renata. That was definitely an error. "It would definitely help if we could pinpoint where these creatures are getting through. That's why we were at the laundromat," he looked at Gabby. "Thought I'd detected an interdimensional flaw in the psychosphere."

" The psycho _what_?" Gabby repeated in a weary manner. She was beginning to think this was a usual theme for this man.

"It's the place where the Cerebravores are from," Renata, once again, simplified it. Gabby was really thankful for that woman. "We thought the portal might be in your laundromat."

"Oh," Gabby's eyes suddenly widened. "Hold on, it might be. The night before last, I was in there with a friend and the washing machines started acting crazy. And I don't mean like the typical crazy, I mean like your typical swirling alien crazy. It was like a crazy spin cycle."

"They came... through the washing machines?" Donna looked, and sounded, rather unimpressed.

"Sorry, should we ask the villains for a better entrance next time?" Renata sent her a reprimanding glance, one that Donna rolled her eyes to.

"Of course," the Doctor brought a hand to his hair, now thinking more about the portals. "That's brilliant! Space time apertures in the local osychosphere attuned to the kinetic energy and rotary motion of washing machine drums! They've even got a decleration hydro-cushion and they'd only register fully when active!"

"I don't understand what he just said but do we go back to the laundromat now?" Gabby specifically looked at Renata, which was honestly surprising for the Time Lady. It was like Gabby was looking at _her_ for directions when it really should've been the Doctor. He knew best.

"They could have come through car wheels, fans anything rotary but linked washing machines what have given them a more stable at entrance!" the Doctor took off to the presumed laundromat.

"That would be a yes," Renata told Gabby before following the Doctor.

~0~

The ran back to the laundromat was even creepier than leaving it. The streets were almost desolate and the only things that were on the street were more Cerebravores in the bodies of humans.

"How many of those Cerebravores do you think there are?" Gabby asked once they neared the laundromat. She would like to know how many they were going to encounter in that small building, how many she'd have to watch out for…

"Dunno," the Doctor admitted. "Could be a bridgehead squad, could be an invasion force. We'll know more if I can measure the power behind that interdimensional gateway."

"I know it's a dumb question to ask but...what would happen if those things actually got ahold of everyone?" Donna inquired next.

"There's no such thing as a 'dumb question'," Renata started off first, her warm smile back on her face.

"Well thanks for that-" Donna playfully rolled her eyes, "-but my question still stands. What would happen?"

"Well, once your reason and your hope are gone...what do you got?" the Doctor poked his head into the next street, the street where their destination would be. "If they gain a further foothold and spread, they'd bleed dry the intelligent beings first...but primates have the greatest emotional capacity…"

"So bad, very bad," Donna pursed her lips together. "Got it."

Gabby sure seemed to think so too. Her face had morphed into utter terror. A panic flashed across her eyes as she realized she could be next on that list. "I don't - I don't want to die never having done anything!"

Renata turned to the woman and gently pulled her down the sidewalk since the Doctor had started the way again. "Gabriella, that's not going to happen."

Gabby didn't seem to be listening as she went on with her ramble, "I want to see things, go places and make things. I want to leave something behind, to contribute to be...to be remembered."

"She's having her first space mental breakdown," Donna's eyebrows rose together, genuinely surprised it would take only this to instigate it.

"Seriously, Donna?" the Doctor threw her a look from ahead.

"It's a real thing," she argued. "You think travelling with you doesn't leave something on us? Not to be rude or anything but this is a real part of being with you guys."

The Doctor wouldn't even attempt to argue there. It wasn't his intention to scar a lot of his companions. Things happened and he couldn't control them. But he did always have the best intentions.

"Okay, Gabriella, just calm down," Renata tried dealing with Gabby's meltdown as best she could given the circumstances. She didn't want Gabby to get too loud and attract unwanted attention, but she didn't want to shut Gabby down without dealing with the woman's fears.

"I don't want to be trapped," Gabby came to a sudden stop, almost as of something had taken ahold of her. "I want to be remembered…"

Renata stepped back from her, eyes searching for something invisible. "Doctor…" came her fear stricken call.

The Doctor turned around and saw Gabby standing there. He pulled his helmet back on and saw one of the Cerebravores behind her, one claw on her shoulder. "Oh no! You get away from her!"

"It's got her, hasn't it?" Renata exclaimed.

"What can we do?" Donna quickly asked. The girl looked so afraid and if that creature was manipulating her he'd get a piece of them alright.

"Fight it, Gabby! It's trying to get into your head!" the Doctor urgently said.

Gabby seemed to react and looked over her shoulder, but of course she couldn't see anything. "No! It's fear but it's my fear!" she clutched her head. She wouldn't let some monster devour her mind like she was nothing.

The Doctor grabbed the microphone from the helmet and brandished it at the Cerebravore. A golden energy jetted from it and hot the creature. It fell backwards, allowing Gabby to run from it. Of course in attacking it, it brought the unwanted attention on them. All the Cerebravores in their Hosts' bodies had heard the commotion and started wandering towards them.

"And run!" the Doctor gave the order before taking off. The three women ran after him, directly into the laundromat. Soon as everyone was inside, he sonicked the front door.

"You can't expect a simple deadbolt to keep all those creatures out, do you?" Renata eyed the doors with wear. It only took a massive collective hit from the other side. It was just glass after all.

"We'll work fast!" the Doctor hurried to the washing machines. "Gabby!" his call turned the woman around. "You saw come through these?" she nodded her head. "Can you get them going?"

Gabby had no idea what his plan could possibly entail but if it meant getting rid of all these creatures, she'd do anything. "Give me a moment!" she dashed for the nearest washing machine and pulled out loose change to put into each slot. When the others caught on, they helped her start the rest of the washers.

A few seconds later, the ground rumbled. The machines seemed to be turning faster and stronger...until a bright gold and purple energy started swirling into existence. The portal had been opened.

" _That's_ been hiding in our washers?" Gabby's face fell in horror. How could she and her family miss that?

"Kind of pretty," Donna's remark earned herself quite a look from Gabby. "What? It does! Kinda spirally, stripey...candy…"

"Donna, that's not it at all," Renata laughed lightly. "It's a bridge from our world to the Cerebravores'. Not at all _candy_ ," she threw the ginger a sharp look for her poor choice of words.

"There's a power source at the other end that's keeping the portal artificially cloaked," the Doctor took a couple steps towards the portal, his head tilting as he examined it. "It's hitched itself to these washing machines. When they spin in formation, the combined tension dilates it, keeps it open. That's incredibly clever. Very stealthy."

"Do not compliment the enemy," Renata said with a sigh. "Feeds the ego."

The Doctor smile but it was hidden as he had his back to her.

"Now what, spaceman?" Donna stared into the void that seemed endless from their spot. "Do we have a plan now?"

"Oh yeah," the Doctor turned around all of a sudden and moved for his helmet that he left on top of one of the driers. "Use this in case there's any more telepathic attacks. Maybe take turns between you two." His warning went specifically to Donna and Gabby.

"That sounds like a goodbye," Gabby was smart as she picked it up. "Are you - are you going in there?" she nodded to the portal, growing more alarmed at the idea. She turned to Renata, almost seeming frantic. "Is he really going to go in there!?"

Renata wasn't at all surprised, just when they'd fought the Sontarans.

"Someone's got to stop them," the Doctor said, completely missing Renata mouth the same thing at the same time he said it.

She knew him far too well.

"I have to cross the bridge, see if I can shut down that power stores at the other end. No power, no bridge, no invasion!" the Doctor turned around and looked directly at Renata. He didn't want this to turn into another Sontaran incident. He didn't want to just leave her without explaining to her what would happen. "I have to go," he said, unintentionally quieter.

Renata couldn't help it and rolled her eyes. "Well, at least this time you're actually telling me straight-first."

"Yeah, I know the last time I royally screwed up-"

"-that's just it, you didn't," Renata sighed. She walked up to the Doctor, giving him one of her warm smiles he came to like so much. It actually relieved him of his fear that she'd lose it again. "I can't be mad when you have good intentions, especially when those intentions involve saving the damn world again. But I really hate you doing this, you know? And you expect me to be happy about it each time you decide to jump through God knows what."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed with a small nod. "Guess it's not that fair-"

"-yeah," Renata put her hands on his shoulders, the action quite surprising for him since she hardly touched him more than she needed to. He chalked it off to her way of being: super cautious. "So let's just do this the right way. While you're gone in that thing, what do you need me to do?"

A big grin came to the Doctor's face. He felt a little extra ping from his hearts - it stopped him for a second but seeing Renata's readiness pulled him right out. "Keep the Cerebravores out as long as you can and keep the machines going."

"Got it," Renata accepted the tasks with a firm nod. "Be careful. And get back in 5 minutes! That's your limit or I'm jumping in, you got that?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Of course."

Renata wanted to give him a hug but she thought that'd be too much. She let him go and stepped back. When the Doctor jumped into the portal, Renata turned around to Donna and Gabby. She was taking control, no matter how odd it felt taking control during an alien invasion.

"That was nice," remarked Donna, though that little knowing smile didn't make Renata happy one bit.

"Don't you even dare, Donna Noble," the Time Lady pointed a firm finger at the woman.

"I haven't said anything," Donna said ever-so-innocently, but her smile contradicted her greatly.

"I swear you humans are so frustrating!" Renata groaned and moved towards the drier where the Doctor left his helmet. She picked it up and was about to debate who to start first with when she noticed Gabby's gaze on the walls. She looked even more terrified, if it was possible. "Gabriella?"

"It's my friend Cindy," Gabby raised a finger to point at one Host body pressing their face against the glass. It was a young Asian woman, around Gabby's age, with long dark hair and matching eyes. Gabby slowly walked up to the wall, forgetting that it was the only thing barricading them from a horde of aliens. "She's my best friend and…"

But 'Cindy' snarled at her like a true monster, scaring the hell out of Gabby.

"Gabriella, do not look at her!" Renata sounded like a mother scolding their child, but really she was just preventing Gabby from following into Cindy's steps. She ran to the young woman and turned Gabby to her. She planted the helmet over Gabby's head and grabbed the woman's shoulders. "Donna! Let's barricade that wall!"

"On it!" Donna exclaimed and started looking for anything to put against the wall.

"Do not look at them, alright?" Renata brought Gabby away from the wall.

"Oh no! I forgot the back door!"

Renata's eyes widened and Donna froze at the same time. The two hurried towards the back door to barricade it as well. Renata's hands moved swiftly as she wrapped a chain around the handles meanwhile Donna brought a wooden bar to stick through the handles.

"I'm so stupid, how could I forget about the backdoor?" Gabby would have face-palmed had the helmet not been on her.

"Gabby, we're fine!" Donna wanted to point out that they were still indeed not Hosts, but Gabby clutched her head.

"Oh for goodness' sake," Renata strode back to Gabby and forced the young woman to look up at her. "You're not dying. We are here to help you but listen, being afraid? That's okay. What's important is you push through to quench those fears."

"But I don't know how to fight aliens!"

"Neither do I," Donna waved a hand from her place by the backdoor. "But these two-" she nodded at Renata, "-teach you so many things. Renata is right, it's okay to be scared but we gotta keep fighting."

"Because if we don't, then who will?" As Renata asked the question, she began to understand more about the Doctor than she ever had. They had the tools to put up a fight against creatures who would crush humans the first chance they got. If they didn't fight, then who would help the humans? The Shadow Proclamation hadn't proved itself to be useful since each time they got into trouble, the Doctor solved the problem while the organization was a no show.

She may love him a bit more now.

"You think I can put up a fight?" Gabby's voice had gone soft.

"I know you can," Renata smiled at the woman. "So let's start by keeping those machines going, alright?"

Gabby nodded slowly. She took in a deep breath and helped keep change flowing through the washing machines.

' _Hey you, my bright star…'_ she sung quietly as she helped, missing Renata's soft smile in the process. The more Gabby sang, the more comfortable she got. ' _Shine on me, shiiine on me…'_

After a while, Donna was the first one to admit their fight wasn't going to last forever. She saw the front door and its glass wall begin to crack. She had put as much furniture as she could there but it was just furniture in the end.

"Last quarter," Gabby held the coin for Renata to see.

The Time Lady was a bit discouraged, honestly, but she was not losing hope. "Put it in," she instructed Gabby.

Gabby swallowed hard and slipped the quarter into the last slot. She then turned to Renata and Donna, wondering how they were keeping up despite what was at stake. But suddenly, the portal started to rumble and out toppled the Doctor along with an even more frightening creatures.

"Doctor!" Renata was about to go forwards when the creatures barred her. She screamed and fell back, just as the Doctor landed opposite from her.

The creatures dangled from the ceilings, threatening anyone who wanted to come near them. The Doctor was awake, but he was in terrible pain. His telepathic abilities may not have been the best versus these creatures.

"Doctor!" Renata wanted to crawl forwards but one creature was adamant to keep her in place, though it was probably to devour her mind.

Donna was stuck in her place at the front door now with one creature coming towards. "Oh, dammit!"

Gabby looked at the helmet around her head and decided that the only one who save all of them was not her, but the Doctor. If she wanted to put up a fight then she had to be strategic right? And that meant being aware of each other's skills. Right now, the Doctor's skills were the ones needed.

She yanked off her helmet and rushed to the Doctor, ducking when one creature tried grabbing her. She slid to a stop next to the Doctor and planted the helmet on him. "There you go!"

Once the helmet was on him, the creatures disappeared. Renata was allowed off the ground and Donna was given way to the group.

"How come we could see them without the helmet?" Donna asked once the three women helped the Doctor get up from the ground.

"The portal did it, plus you were a hell of a lot scared right?," the Doctor groaned from his fall.

"Tell me you have something," Renata said.

"Of course, but right now let's go somewhere where we're not barricaded," he turned away and spotted a small corridor with staircase. "To the roof, I presume?"

Gabby nodded her head. "Yeah, it's to the roof. But what if the portal opens again?"

"We've closed it from the other side."

"We?" repeated Donna.

The Doctor's face turned grim, letting them make their own assumptions.

As they retreated to the top of the building, the Doctor explained the world he found on the other side. It was the home planet of the Cerebravores, or at least for these creatures. As it turned out, the Cerebravores were part of the Primavores but were weaponized for another species' war. Since the connection to their hive mind was removed, all they knew was to hunt.

"Once again war," Renata muttered as she looked out to the streets infested with Cerebravores. "We can't let this world fall prey to a foreign world, not this time."

The Doctor set a hand on her shoulder, knowing exactly what she meant. "We won't," he promised. "We need to get back to the TARDIS. I've got something that might help us inside."

"TAR-DIS?" Gabby repeated in confusion.

"Wait till you see it," Donna mused at the woman's possible reactions. That had to be funny to watch from the other end.

The group took the fire staircase down the building and made their way back to the blue box as quietly as possible. It was a relief being able to return to the box that could keep them safe from almost anything.

Being the last one in and therefore seeing three people just walk into one small box was flabbergasting for Gabby. "How are you all fitting in…" but she lost her words the moment she stepped inside and saw the large console room, "...inside…?"

Her eyes raked over the golden glow of the room. Her body turned in circles as she tried to take in the high ceiling, the second floor, the _console_ …

"Careful there!" Renata caught Gabby as the latter had nearly fallen backwards. "Last thing we need is for you to get a concussion right now."

Gabby laughed happily - the first genuine happy laugh Renata and the others had heard since they met her - until something hit her. "Wait, this _cannot_ be human." Her eyes widened as she kept thinking about it and soon her gaze landed on the trio by the console. "You three...you're not...you're not humans, are you?"

"I am," Donna stuck a hand in the air. "Very human, thank you very much. It's those two that aren't very local."

Renata seemed more worried than the Doctor, but then again Renata had spent a good part of her life in hiding amongst humans while the Doctor went gallivanting through the world without a care.

"So you're like the Cerebravores? Do you wear perceptual filters too?" Gabby looked Renata over then the Doctor.

The Doctor was hard at work with the helmet but he still had to answer, "If I had been, you would've knocked it for six when you belted me with that baseball bat."

Gabby made a face at the reminder. "Sorry," she felt the need to say again.

"We really do look like this," Renata said, though she wanted to laugh at the Doctor's words.

"So why are you helping us, then?" Gabby folded her arms, rather confused now that she thought about it more. "You're aliens, why would you want to help humans? It's not your problem."

"Let's just say I'm very fond of you," the Doctor shrugged, though that was a clear understatement.

"It's more like this is a home for him," Renata said, though there was a sad smile that Donna seemed to catch.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, none the wiser.

"Are you two from the same place? The same species?"

"Yes," Renata nodded. "And let's not worry where we're from right now. Just know that we're going to do everything we can to help New York out."

"Pretty sure we can do it with this," the Doctor raised the helmet that now bore new additions. "I've altered it a bit so now it'll work as an empathic field amplifier. All we need now is an abundance of...good vibes to magnify and project it at the Cerebravores."

"Good _vibes_?" Donna didn't look very convinced of the new plan. "That's it?"

"Yup," the Doctor said with a usual goofy grin. "Any ideas?"

"Oh," Gabby raised a hand, but Renata told her she didn't need to do that so Gabby put the hand down and went ahead and explained. "Green-wood cemetery. There's a Day of the Dead celebration. If anyone's still around, that's where they'll be."

"It's the Day of the Dead?" Renata blinked.

"Aha! C'mon!" Gabby, rather excitedly now, led the way to the doors.

"Remind me again why we couldn't just take the TARDIS?" Donna voiced her thoughts midway through their run for the park.

"Because they'd detect the telepathic abilities of the TARDIS, why else?" Renata gave her a look that indicated it should've been obvious, but of course no one had actually explained to Donna the extent of the TARDIS' abilities.

"I think you two should just make a welcome packet or something," Donna remarked with a huff. Had it been another, less dangerous, time the Doctor and Renata would've laughed.

Gabby led them to a park where, as soon as they stepped onto mushy grass, they began to hear live music.

"Human beings," the Doctor mused from the hillside. They were gazing down a festival indeed, with everyone singing and dancing along to a mariachi. "Indomitable! Even in the face of certain tragedy, chaos all around…."

"Honestly, that's just kind of looks like you're tempting the fates," Renata folded her arms, not looking as happy as the Doctor. She didn't understand why these people would deliberately go outside when there was a clear danger.

"C'mon," Gabby insisted as she rushed down the hillside, completely ignoring Renata's warning that she might trip over her feet.

"Gabriella!" a young woman called almost immediately after the group had come over. She looked like Gabby, which led the others to presume they were sisters.

"Oh, Blanca…" Gabby blinked, suddenly aware that she had no explanation for her disappearance and much less an introduction of the travelers.

"We were so worried about you," an older woman - probably their mother - moved over to hug Gabby.

Gabby pulled away with a flushed face. "Right, right, I'm fine. Um…" she looked back at the group.

"Who are they?" Gabby's father eyed the group suspiciously since he'd never seen them before.

"We're Gabby's friends," the Doctor gave a wave but his presence was a bit troublesome considering he still had his helmet and was now carrying a metal, box-like object with him.

Renata cleared her throat and stepped forwards, hoping to ease the family's obvious concerns. "I'm Renata, this is Donna-" she gestured to the ginger who waved, "-and this is the Doctor. Don't mind his devices. He's a builder... engineer...of some sort…"

The Doctor just grinned. It was part of his life description.

"Miguel González," Gabby's father introduced himself, now looking a bit easier. "And my wife, Maria," he gestured to Gabby's mother.

"Since when are they your friends?" Blanca looked at the trio with the same degree of suspicion her father had.

Gabby frowned. "I _have_ friends, you know." Blanca didn't seem so convinced.

"Um, Doctor…" came Donna's uncharacteristically shaky voice. "...I think the Cerebravores are here…"

The Doctor followed her gaze and saw the Cerebravores - in the humans' bodies - storming down on the festival. The Mariachi was just about to stop playing when the Doctor hurried over with a simple (maybe not so simple) request. "Listen to me, everyone. Whatever you do keep singing! Keep your spirits up! Don't give into the fear!"

The Mariachi band looked at him like was crazy, as well as most of the crowd.

"Just do it!" Gabby exclaimed. "He's the only one who can stop that! Sing!"

While Gabby sang to the tune the Mariachi had been playing, Renata moved towards the Doctor. "Whatever you're doing, it needs to be done now!"

"Right!" the Doctor turned to her and dumped the metal box into her arms. "I need you to box them in and keep them here." He started pulling the wires from the object to connect them.

"Okay, but is it going to be fast?" Renata didn't want to point out how quickly the Cerebravores were moving in on them.

"Of course!" the Doctor said a bit too fast. "Donna!" the ginger hurried to help put the wires in the right plugs, with his indication of course. While she did that, the Doctor reached for something inside his coat which happened to be a smaller metal device, resembling a controller, although there was a big red button in the center of it.

"One big red button - could you _be_ more obvious?" Renata gave him such a scolding look that the Doctor had to laugh just for a second.

"C'MON!" Donna screamed, almost looking as if she was about to press the button herself.

"Right!" the Doctor raised the controller over his head and slammed his hand over the controller. As soon as he did that, a golden energy was released from it. It was like a pulse that extended to the depths of the city but it did eradicate the Cerebravores...and threw everyone to the ground in the process.

"Ah, my head," Donna was the first to react but had good reason to since she'd collided with a metal trash bin.

"Donna, are you alright?" Renata pushed herself up, ignoring a small cut on her left arm. She helped Donna stand up and quickly examined her for any surface injuries.

"And what about you, Gabby?" the Doctor offered the young woman a hand. Gabby seemed shaken but a bit...happy? Like maybe the happiness one would get after saving the city?

"Ah, yeah!" she laughed as she took his hand. She was pulled to her feet and looked out at the crowd of the festival. "Everyone's saved, then?"

The group followed her gaze and saw the crowd of Cerebravores were now humans again, all waking up from a terrible nightmare.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor grinned. "Let the party go on!"

"How do I explain this to my family, though?" Gabby scratched the top of her head as she stared at her family getting together to make sure they were alright. "We, um, we don't really see eye to eye."

"The truth would probably be the way to go," Renata offered. "Trust me."

"I don't...know…"

"Could just do it for you," Renata said after a moment then turned towards Gabby's family. "Excuse me?" she raised a finger and approached them. "Hi, just want to let you know that your daughter, Gabriella, just helped save the city. Please don't be upset with her. I think she's an exceptionally brave and resourceful woman."

Gabby was red in the face. She stared at Renata as if she couldn't believe the Time Lady would think that of her. It was even more when the Doctor and Donna joined in on her aid.

"Brilliant, she is!" the Doctor added. "Couldn't have done it without her!"

"Seriously!" Donna laughed.

"And very smart," Miguel truly surprised Gabby. He was smiling so genuinely too. "I think it's about high time you start following your heart. I know I've gotten in the way of that."

Gabby looked down. Her choice of career had always been the center of their arguments. She wanted to pursue an art career but her father wanted her at their restaurant. The same restaurant that Renata and Donna unknowingly visited for breakfast.

"Follow your dreams, my dear daughter." Miguel came forwards to put a hand on Gabby's shoulder. "Art school, design degrees, whatever you want. We'll find a way to make it work."

"Dad!" Gabby exclaimed and hugged her father tightly. He'd never acted like this before.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Renata raised a hand to brush some hair from her face.

"Renée, your arm," the Doctor noticed the cut on her arm but she shooed his hand away.

"It's a scratch, literally!"

"Okay, what did you do to my dad!?" Gabby came rushing up to them, really taking on the appearance of a child. "He's so different now!"

"Not us," the Doctor raised his free hand to indicate his honest. "Take a look at your personal fan club."

Before Gabby knew it, the helmet was plonked on her head, allowing her to see the swarm of benign Primavores in the sky. It was so ethereal, Gabby felt like she could watch them for ages.

"The Primavores might have affected your father's outlook a little," the Doctor explained to her. "I think you earned yourself a lifetime of good karma."

"Me?" Gabby raised a hand as if to touch one of the creatures. She gasped when her hand actually went through a tail, but it didn't hurt. In fact, she just felt a warm tinge on her skin.

"You earned it," Renata smiled softly at the woman. Even Donna had the same expression. "Your singing with the band, keeping the fear down...you were like a beacon."

"Really?" Gabby pulled the helmet off her head, allowing the trio to see her doubtful expression. "Everyone here was scared stupid. I thought 'no way was there enough goodwill to blast the Cerebravores' - not even with one of your space gizmos."

"You'd be surprised what he can actually do with those," Donna folded her arms. "Kind of shocking, I know, but it's the truth."

"Oi," the Doctor frowned at her.

"Thank you!" Gabby laughed and gave the trio a simultaneous hug.

When she pulled away, the group got requests from most of the crowd to stay for the rest of the festival. It was impossible to refuse.

"Are you sure you're okay, though?" the Doctor was still on Renata's arm after about an hour or so, much to her dismay.

She strolled down the path in the park, stopping by a couple stands to see what they offered. The cut the Doctor was so persistent about had already stopped bleeding so there was nothing to do about it. "If I repeat the answer for the 100th time, will that be the end of this?" she picked up a couple herbs tied together by the root and sniffed it. "Mint. These would be nice for a tea."

"I'm serious!" the Doctor exclaimed beside her.

She put the herbs back in their place and continued to walk. "So was I. It's just a cut, why are you exaggerating?"

"I just want to make sure that you're fine!"

"But I am. In what fits."

"What's that mean?"

Renata stopped walking and turned towards the live music. The mariachi was still going strong. "We're in a festival honoring the dead, Doctor. What do you think is wrong with that? With us being here?"

The Doctor nodded silently. He knew what she meant. They certainly had a lot of people to honor, with a few important ones amongst them. "I didn't think about it," be admitted, his voice quiet now. "But then again, I've trained myself not to think about it. _Her_." Renata side-glanced him, her lip now becoming her gum again. "Just the way it's been."

"We accustom ourselves to bury our loved ones in the deepest corner of our minds to avoid feeling the pain. But the truth is," Renata paused to sigh, "No matter how hard you try, the pain is still there. It'll always be there."

"Yeah," the Doctor exhaled, his hands finding their way into his coat's pockets. They watched the festival go on for a few silent minutes before the Doctor spoke again. "Maybe it's time we go home."

"Yeah," Renata agreed with a nod.

~0~

Gabby offered to walk with the trio back to the TARDIS after they told her it was time for them to go.

"This was one of the best day of the dead celebrations!" Donna exclaimed but paused for a moment to think. "Well, it was the first Day of the Dead celebration I ever went to but it's definitely really good."

Gabby chuckled at her. She liked Donna a lot.

"Your mother and grandmother are amazing cooks," Renata had to remark before they would part. "They definitely have the same style of your ancestors when they first started the restaurant."

"What - you were _there_ when the restaurant first opened!?"

Renata nodded. "I had to accustom myself to eat human food and this place was amazing."

Gabby thought that was amazing. "Well, I'm sure my family would be open to showing you some recipes!"

"Oh yes!" Renata gasped with delight. "I could add that to my dinners."

"You make dinners in that thing?" Gabby pointed to the TARDIS they were nearing.

"She's not an 'it'," the Doctor frowned. "The TARDIS is a sentient box, you know. She's a she. And an endless box too."

"So you've got a kitchen in there?" Gabby stopped with the trio in front of the TARDIS and gave the box an odd look.

"And a swimming pool," Donna was happy to add.

"And a library," Renata gave Donna a pointed glance. "Could spend a few more hours in there than doing some irrelevant laps in a pool."

"I don't understand half your books!"

Renata rolled her eyes, which then made Donna huff.

Gabby looked between the two with an expression that could only be described as fascination. "So do you all live together? In that thi - the TARDIS?"

"Yeah," the Doctor smiled at Renata and Donna. "Kind of like one a little family." Now it was Renata's turn to smile. It had been automatic too which, when she caught herself, she blushed for and looked away.

"Do you...take more passengers?" Gabby started biting her lower lip like one Time Lady would often do.

"Well, I suppose," the Doctor went on, not understanding what Gabby was trying to say. "I mean, we could but…" And then he got it. " _Oh_ ," he blinked and quickly exchanged a look with Renata. She was just as surprised as he was.

Donna, however, had known straightaway what Gabby was trying to ask. "I thought it would take you a less time to ask." Gabby sheepishly smiled. "I asked the moment I saw him - well, the second time I bumped into him."

"You really want to come along with us?" Renata asked, making Gabby's smile falter a bit. The Time Lady didn't seem so eager to accept. "I thought your father said you could go to art school. What happened to that plan?"

"I'd like to, I would, but...I don't think any art school would teach me half the things you know."

Now Renata was utterly stunned. "You want _me_ to teach you? Wait, hold on, you'd want to travel with us...for _me_?"

Gabby's face flushed. "Well, you seem to know a lot. Plus, you seem, I don't know, so eloquent and elegant."

"Are you sure you're talking about me?" Renata shook her head fervently. This had to be a mistake. If anyone wanted to travel in the TARDIS it'd be because of the Doctor. "He-" she pointed a finger at the Doctor, "-know things. I just tag along cos he kidnapped me."

The Doctor deadpanned her. "Are we really bringing that up right now?"

"It's the truth!"

"Look, I don't understand what that means but I mean what I say," Gabby went on even though the embarrassment was killing her. "I could learn so much from you and besides, time travelling? Doing more of this? I would love to. Can I please come?"

"Oh can we please take her?" Donna slung an arm over Gabby's shoulder. "I'd love to even the odds of Time Lords vs. humans here. It's only fair."

"She's not a pet," the Doctor playfully remarked. "And it's really fine with me. I like you, Gabby." Gabby beamed at his response. "Renée, what do you think?"

"I'm still...so confused!" Renata waved a hand. She'd need more time to process this.

"Why?" the trio asked with the same tone of confusion.

"Because I don't have anything to offer you," Renata told Gabby. "I don't know the things the Doctor knows. If you want a teacher, that's him and not me."

"Oh no, you are definitely a good teacher," the Doctor walked on over to her side. "You've taught me several things and that's an accomplishment." She playfully rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Renée," he put an arm around her waist, an action that made her flinch, "You have an aspiring art student begging for your attention-"

"-I don't think I'm actually begging," Gabby's remark flew over their heads.

"-and you are more than qualified to teach someone. You helped a foundation back then, remember? Helping is in your DNA."

"I've never taught a human before," Renata said through gritted teeth.

"It's just as easy! C'mon!"

"Please?" Gabby tried one more time before it was considered begging.

Renata couldn't take Gabby's overly hopeful face. It was touching, on some level, that someone would take such an interest in her like this. Someone actually wanted her help. _Her_. And to be honest, she actually really liked Gabby. She was kind of like one of the people she used to help back on Gallifrey. Teenagers who had no idea what to do with their lives in the Academy. Gabby was no child but Renata viewed her as a youngster.

 _Dammit._ With a sigh, Renata. "Gabriella Gonzalez, you are more than welcome in the TARDIS."

As soon as the words left Renata's mouth, Gabby squealed and rushed up to the Time Lady for a tight hug. "Thank you!"

"Guess we should probably show you around, then," the Doctor backtracked to the TARDIS. He was excited for a new passenger, but even more so that Gabby would specifically be Renata's companion. He thought it'd be a good way to help Renata heal like he had. Humans had that knack of ability.

Hopefully Gabby Gonzalez would not be an exception.


	15. Art Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata struggles to find the right way to 'teach' Gabby on her first trip to an alien planet, so the Doctor naturally offers a way to help her. In the midst of a battle against art apprentices, Renata and Gabby come in contact with a force that gives them a glimpse of a never before seen energy.
> 
> Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

When the Doctor found Renata, she was in the console room but...she was just standing there like a statue. Her back was to him so she didn't immediately see him but the closer the Doctor got to her, the more he could hear her mumbling to herself. Anyone else would've called her a crazy person, but the Doctor was no stranger to silent conversations with one's self in the console room. Half the time that's what he did when he was in the TARDIS.

"Renée?" his soft call still elicited a gasp from her, as well as her sudden whirl in his direction.

"You scared me!" she exclaimed, clearly irritated with his way of entrance. "Don't do that again!"

The Doctor raised both his hands to show he was coming in peace, but the growing smile on his face - which looked like he wanted to laugh at her - betrayed his intentions.

"It's not funny!" she huffed and once again turned away from him.

"What are you doing anyways?" he decided to skip his argument that he wasn't trying to make fun of her. "Just standing in the middle of the room talking to yourself? That's my job."

Renata almost snorted at him. She bit her lip and gave him a strange look instead, one akin to…

"Why do you look scared?" the Doctor quickly picked up on it.

"Because I did something bad."

" _You_?" now the Doctor nearly laughed. "What could you have possibly done, Renata?"

"I let some human come into the TARDIS with the idea that I'd be able to teach 'em something!" Renata exclaimed in a full blown panic. She'd been thinking about this ever since Gabby was invited yesterday. She hadn't slept wondering what the hell she would teach Gabby when she herself didn't know a lot of things.

"That's your problem?" the Doctor was about to comment how ridiculous it was but seeing Renata's worked over expression made him pause and think. "Renée... c'mon...Gabby's 19. She doesn't know a lot to begin with."

"Which is exactly why she expects to be taught about _everything_!"

The Doctor tilted his head at her. The expression on his face was the exact one he would give Renata back on Gallifrey when he claimed - he firmly believed- Renata (then Zuriah) was overreacting. Renata wanted nothing more than to snap at him and tell him that she wasn't overreacting. But of course doing that would out her.

"You should teach her," she instead decided. "Yes, that's the better idea. I don't have a clue of what goes on out there," she turned sideways to make a gesture at the doors. "And if Gabriella wants to know about the galaxies, then she should learn it from the smartest one of the two. You."

The Doctor just couldn't help the wide smirk that took over his face. "Oh, so you think I'm smart?" Renata rolled her eyes at him, but she did have to turn her head away to keep her blush a secret. "As much I truly accept the compliment, I must refuse." Now that made Renata's head snap back in his direction.

"What?" she frowned. "You refuse?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded his head. "Because it's not true. You are intelligent beyond belief."

Renata scoffed. "Please. You already kidnapped me, you don't need to suck up."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm just telling you the truth. Your intelligence does not stem from travels. Remember what you did back in the foundation you worked for? All that has made you so smart…"

"But I don't know humans!" the woman threw her hands into the air, giving the impression she might just self-combust in that moment.

"Yes you do," the Doctor nodded, his smile of amusement irritating the hell out of her. "You spent so many years living amongst them. You know humans."

"I don't know what to do with one!"

"You don't do anything with them. They're not pets, Renata."

Renata rolled her eyes. "I didn't say they were. I'm just...I'm not in my element. There's a 19 year old human who…"

"Looks up to you?" the Doctor finished for her with the same smile still on his face.

Renata groaned. "Why would she do that? She doesn't even know me!"

"You did save her," the Doctor swayed his head. "And then you did bring her along the city to save it."

"You are not helping!"

The Doctor grinned at her. "I think I am. You just don't want to admit it."

Renata sighed and leaned against the console. Alright, so maybe having someone looking up to her was a bit exciting but it was also scary. It meant that Gabby was going to watch her every move and what if she messed up in front of the girl? What would Gabby think then?

Renata scrunched her face when she realized how much thought she was putting into what Gabby would think of her. It was the expression that made the Doctor suddenly laugh. "Is my misery amusing to you?" Renata demanded from him.

"No, it's...you looked like you caught yourself or something. What'd you realize?"

It was moments like these that reminded Renata of how easily the Doctor could often read her emotions. Back then, it was almost impossible to hide her feelings no matter if they were good or bad. He always knew how she felt. And when he picked up on her bad feelings, he almost always endeavored to solve it with a great big hug.

Renata really loved his hugs. She could really use one right now.

"Morning!" the cheery voice of Gabby pulled Renata back to the present. Gabby was coming into the room with Donna, the former looking extremely excited. Gabby came directly to Renata with the biggest smile Renata had ever seen. "So, Donna says we start travelling today. Where are we going?"

Renata's mouth opened to answer until she realized she had no idea where to even bring Gabby. Her eyes flickered to the side in an attempt to come up with something fast.

"Actually," the Doctor suddenly spoke up, "Renée was just talking about visiting an art gallery in the 50th century."

Gabby's eyes nearly sparkled at the idea. "Really!?" she looked back to Renata, but the Time Lady was staring wide-eyed at the Doctor.

"I was?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. You mentioned the Academia Stellaris on Sirius 5. I thought-" his hands went to his chest in what Renata would describe as dramatic, "-it was a brilliant idea. I told her, 'Gabby is going to love it!' and-"

"-I do! I so do!" Gabby exclaimed, unable to stop herself from squealing like a child. "Oh, thank you!" she hugged Renata so tight, and so unexpectedly, that all Renata did was just let the human sway her body side to side.

Donna noticed the way Renata was looking at the Doctor and had to describe it as gratitude? And the Doctor, being who he usually was, had a big grin on his face. Oh, those two were so complicated to read sometimes.

"Why don't you go grab a coat?" the Doctor suggested to Gabby then to Donna. "It's a bit chilly on Sirius 5, not quite adapted for humans yet."

"I'm getting my furry coat!" Donna quickly said when she remembered how freezing cold the Ood planet was. "C'mon Gabby, let's find you something in the wardrobe!"

"There's a wardrobe here?" Gabby blinked while Donna dragged her by the arm back into the corridors.

Soon as they were gone, Renata brought her hands to her face and groaned. "That was a disaster!"

"Seriously? Gabby's happy," the Doctor tried to remind but Renata shook her head.

"She's only happy because _you_ thought of a place to bring her. _I_ didn't. I'm terrible at this." Her shoulders slumped as her entire body fell against the console.

The Doctor stared at her for a few seconds as he convinced himself that this really was Renata. He hadn't ever seen her so confused and...feeble? Since she'd come with him - well, when he _kidnapped_ her - all she'd been was authoritative, even when sometimes it was a pain in the ass because it deeply contrasted with his way of living. She always knew what to do, when to do it, and the best way to do it. But now Gabriella Gonzalez was the apparently the downfall of the Time Lady. And honestly, it was the closest the Doctor had felt to Renata since they'd started travelling together. Her cool walls were down and now he was meeting the real Renata, the part of her that was just as frazzled as he was; the part that showed him that she made mistakes and sometimes had no idea what to do. He liked both sides of her, but this side right now was the side that allowed him to get closer to her, even if it was just to aid her.

He stepped closer to her and gently pulled her hands off her face, though he then kept them in his hands. He met her fearful eyes and offered her a kind, soft smile. "I just gave you a start. Doesn't mean I'm better."

Renata shook her head. "No, it's always been a fact that you are better." She lowered her gaze as the repressed feelings started worming their way to the surface. It was his ideas that always gave her a moment of fun in her life, even when it was usually accompanied by nearly getting caught. It was his ideas that always ended up getting a smile from her, it was him that always had her feeling better in the end. "You've always been better," she whispered.

The Doctor wanted to believe that there was more meaning behind her words, but as much as he tried to think about it...he came up with nothing. He didn't know her. He didn't know what she could possibly be thinking about. And it irked him. Yes, it irked him.

Donna purposely cleared her throat when she and Gabby returned, both coated up. She raised an eyebrow at the questionable aliens and had quite an amusing time watching them quickly tear their hands from each other and move in opposite directions. "Did we...interrupt…?"

"Of course not," Renata immediately shot the idea down, even throwing a glare at Donna for the insinuation.

"Are you ready, Gabby?" the Doctor asked the young girl, perhaps as a way to move things along who knew.

"Aha!" Gabby nodded her head so fast the others thought she might get dizzy.

"Right then, let's go!" the Doctor went for the controls to get them to Sirius 5.

Donna brought Gabby up to the console with the warning that the trips were never easy, something that earned herself a hard 'Oi!' from the Doctor. He did his best! But Gabby couldn't be less bothered with the way the TARDIS jolted. All she knew was that as soon as the TARDIS stopped, it meant she was going to be on a foreign _planet_. She turned to run for the doors when Renata called her to wait.

"Oh, Renée," the Doctor moved around the console, throwing the Time Lady a smirk, "Let her go out and explore."

"I think not," Renata's authoritative hardness was back. "We need to know what's out there, hence the monitor." She moved up to the screen and ignored the Doctor rolling his eyes as he mumbled about how boring that was.

"Oh, that makes sense," Gabby quickly turned on her heels and returned to Renata's side. "Something could, I don't know, pop out and eat us."

"I doubt that would happen, but...it's always a good idea to check where you've landed," Renata pointed at her like a mother would when she was lecturing their child.

"Can she be my teacher?" Donna, smirking, looked to the Doctor. She knew very well the Doctor would never in a 100 years be this cautious. It didn't mean he was careless but...Renata just did it better when it came to this part.

"I'm just going to go," the Doctor resolved and turned for the doors.

"Fine, but when you get eaten I don't want to hear it," Renata calmly called while she gazed at the readings on the monitor. So far, everything did look okay but she wanted to be extra sure.

" _When I get eaten_ ," the Doctor mumbled under his breath and missed Renata's sharp look on him. Gabby brought a hand to her mouth to cover her giggle. They were a funny pair. "Oh, look at that," the Doctor pushed the doors open and stepped out. He looked back inside after a few seconds. "Nothing's eaten me yet." He made a show of walking a couple steps away then once again called back to say how he was still very much _not_ eaten.

Renata scrunched her face and tilted her head. "I am _this_ close-" she raised her hand with her index finger and thumb almost touching each other, "-to shutting the doors and leaving him here."

"Do it," Donna laughed at the idea. The Doctor's face would be priceless!

Renata's smile was close to turning into a laugh, but she knew better than to be this rude. "Let's just go Gabby. Everything seems in order." She led the way towards the open doors and stepped out first into a dark, blue sky planet. The Doctor was a few feet away, gazing at a collection of mountains not too far from where they were.

As soon as Renata heard a thud behind, she whirled around in a state of panic thinking Gabby had been hurt. It was only confirmed when she found Gabby on her knees and with a hand over her mouth. "Gabriella! What's wrong!?" Renata rushed up to the young woman.

Donna looked at the Doctor to see what he thought, but he didn't appear to be so concerned. He seemed to guess what was going on with Gabby.

"Gabriella?" Renata exclaimed. "Are you okay!? Please tell me what's happening!"

"Yes!" Gabby said through a teary-eyed laugh. She felt guilty fofr making Renata think she was hurt but she couldn't help it. "This place...it's just so beautiful!" Renata let Gabby go as the latter reached to scoop up some sand from the ground. "Even the sand feels different! More smooth, more…" she got up fast and rushed to a bush with blue leaves and curly vines. "The leaves are _blue_! And…" she leaned forwards to sniff it, "...they smell like lavender!"

"You think that's nice, come check out the pond," the Doctor nodded to the small lake ahead of them.

"Wait, Gabby!" Renata called just as Gabby dashed for the lake which meant she was running down the hillside. "Don't run or you'll fall!"

Gabby couldn't hear anything right now. She was ecstatic. She dropped to her knees and leaned closer to the water. She saw a creature resembling a seahorse but it was purple...and it had blue wings…

"Oh my God, look at that," Donna had come up beside Gabby and pointed at a pair of jellyfish that turned out to have iridescent, gangly tails.

"C'mon," the Doctor offered his arm to Renata so they could walk down the hill to join their companions. She rolled her eyes but accepted nonetheless. She curled her arm around his and allowed him to lead the way down. "It's quite nice to see their reactions, right?" he asked her quietly, but Gabby and Donna were too enthralled with the sea life to overhear them anyways.

Renata had to admit there was an indescribable feeling to it. "I guess this is why you tried so hard to impress Donna when you first took her to the Ood planet."

"Look at the waterfall!" Gabby laughed and pointed ahead.

There was a waterfall between two of the mountains the Doctor had seen earlier. But the water was so sparkly that it almost looked crystal clear. What really took Gabby away was the fact that part of the water seemed to be flowing from the sky, almost looking like Van Gogh's Starry Night.

"It's a pretty good place here," Donna remarked and looked back at the pair of aliens. She took notice of their closeness but kept it to herself for now. "Why haven't we come here before?"

"Because we were busy getting nearly killed somewhere else," Renata said so calmly and easily.

"You what?" Gabby turned around. She hadn't caught a word of their conversation and it showed because anyone else would've panicked at their track record.

"Nothing," Renata said instantly. "We were, um, we're going to head into the city."

Gabby's face lit up all over again. "Yes! Let's do that!"

The art gallery was at the very end of the city, which allowed the travelers to see pretty much everything in the streets. Of course once or twice, Renata had to remind Gabby that around here _she_ was the alien. Gabby couldn't help but point out the fact that a lot of these people, aliens, had blue or green skin. Not to mention the fact many of the civilians had bulging eyes like one would see on a bug. She just couldn't help it!

"How do you guys do it, though?" Gabby soon started a round of questions when they turned the street that would lead them to the art gallery. "Be so at home even though you're on an alien planet, millions of galaxies away from Earth? Or even from your own home?"

"We're used to it. We tend to move a lot," the Doctor was the one to answer, despite now wearing a heavy expression on his face.

Gabby paused to really study both his and Renata's similar expressions. They seemed sad, but like.. _really_ sad. Almost grim. She said something she shouldn't have because even Donna was nervously biting on her index nail. But what did she say?

Then it clicked.

"Hey," she started again but in a quieter tone, "You never said...where are you from?" Neither Time Lord wanted to answer that, but Gabby noticed their expressions fell deeper towards a crestfallen path. She had asked the wrong question. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean-"

"Look, the art gallery!" Renata pointed out the building they were approaching. Once Gabby saw it's castle-esque style, she forgot all about her question.

"That's like royalty!" she gawked.

"The Pentaquoteque Gallery of Ouloumos," the Doctor presented, much happier than a few minutes ago. He was relieved Gabby was forgetting about her question because he certainly wasn't in the mood to go down that path with her yet, much less Renata.

They came up to the open gate which was several, and several, feet high. Gabby felt so small when she walked past them, even more so when she caught sight of the beautiful garden leading up to the gallery's front door.

"This is amazing!" she practically screeched and dashed to one of the many statues lining up the path.

"She really reminds me of a kid in a candy shop," Donna remarked. She looked at the Doctor and Renata and saw their agreeing looks. She was about to add that _they_ resembled parents in that moment when she realized it would probably trigger memories of Jenny. Thank God she caught herself on time. "I'm going to stop her from touching something she shouldn't," Donna then said and hurried off before she said something she shouldn't. Too close!

"She does look happy," Renata said after the ginger had gone. "Thanks for that." Her warm smile meant everything for the Doctor, but he wasn't sure why. Still, he took it.

"Look, Renée," he moved to stand in front of her.

"That's not my name," she reminded, not that it mattered. The nickname had stuck despite her protests.

"I have an idea, I'm just not sure how you'd feel about it." And judging by the look on his face, it was quite an idea.

"What is it?" Renata admitted she was a little curious.

"Inside there's a lot of paintings and statues and other things Gabby's going to see. I imagine you'll want to explain what they are-"

"-naturally," Renata sighed. "But I won't be able to. I don't know what's inside."

" _I_ do…"

"Surprise, surprise," Renata playfully rolled her eyes.

"There _is_ a way for you to know it too," the Doctor said, though his tone had gone quiet and...a bit soft? Renata wasn't sure. "I can...share with you. My thoughts? The ones specific to this art gallery. I can share that with you telepathically."

Renata instantly knew what he wanted to propose. Her body shifted to the side, as did her gaze. "Doctor…"

"I know you've refused in the past to let us connect our minds telepathically but this is different," the Doctor promised fast before she would shut him down. "I could let you in and you would be able to know everything that's inside that gallery."

"But that's cheating," Renata bit her lower lip, her eyes flickering to Gabby excitedly babbling to Donna about a golden statue they'd discovered. "Not to mention lying. I'd be taking credit for something _you_ learned. Something _you_ know about."

"You wouldn't be because I'm letting you peek into my mind to answer a question Gabby might have."

"That's literally cheating."

"Renata," the Doctor rubbed his forehead. He knew this would be a complicated thing to run by her, so he just had to push through.

"Doctor I can't do it," Renata shook her head. "You're the one that knows everything. I shouldn't take credit. It's cheating, lying and stealing."

"Not if I'm letting you take it," the Doctor argued. "I'm teaching you, in a way...just a quicker way. I'm giving you access to an information bank."

"Your brain is not…" Renata paused when she realized that it was the perfect description of what his big old brain was. She had to laugh.

The Doctor grinned. If she was laughing then they were on the right track. "So, what do you say?"

Renata sobered from her laugh fast as she got to thinking. Sharing their thoughts was a gateway to letting each other into their respective minds that included other memories and feelings. What if she accidentally let one wrong memory slip from her grasp and he saw it? What if he saw she was Zuriah in the past? That's why she initially told him that she wasn't comfortable connecting telepathically.

 _It's not like you don't have a tight grasp on your memories,_ she berated herself. She wasn't stupid.

"Oh my God! Look at this!" Gabby's voice drifted to them. She now stood in front of an odd statue with a twisted body. "What do you think this is?" she asked Donna, but of course Donna had no idea.

 _The Doctor probably knows,_ Renata thought.

"I won't look into your head, Renata," the Doctor quietly said, presuming that's where her thoughts had gone to. "I would never do that."

"I know," Renata sadly smiled at him. "I do trust you, Doctor. You're not that type of person."

"So, what do you think?"

Renata drew in a deep breath before she nodded her head. "Okay. We can do that. But-" she raised a finger to point at him, "-in return I want you to actually teach me about the galaxies. I don't want to take credit for your experiences. That's not fair. If I'm going to teach Gabby, I want it to be from me."

"I would love that," the Doctor beamed. Someone who didn't mind hearing his babbles about his trips? Someone who would actually understand what he was talking about? How could he refuse!?

~0~

The inside of the art gallery was even more grand than the outside. There were dozens of hallways with dozens and dozens of artwork to admire. Gabby couldn't get enough of them! She'd visited museums before but they all paled in comparison to this one!

"Oh! Look at that one!" she practically seized Renata's wrist and yanked the Time Lady towards a podium with a see-through cube. Its inside had millions of small black and white particles floating in the air while golden waves floated from its corners. "What is that!" Gabby pointed at it.

Once Renata pried her wrist from Gabby, not that the human noticed with all her excitement, she took a look at the cube. "...it's a 3D pointlist painting. It's based on principles invented by George Seurat." Gabby audibly 'aaahd' as she circled the podium. "It changes depending on what angle you view it from."

"It's so cool!" Gabby felt like she was repeating the same thing over and over, but there was really no other way to put her thoughts into words. She was just speechless and that's what came out.

As they continued down the hallway, Gabby kept pointing at different artworks that Renata would then explain. It was honestly quite incredible the way the information just rolled off her tongue, least that's what Gabby remarked after leaving two portraits that mimicked her face and Renata's.

"Thank you," Renata would then whisper to the Doctor every time she had the chance. Everything she was saying was what the Doctor was telling her telepathically, as well as what Renata saw through his mind. He truly had been everywhere.

"Of course," the Doctor would say each time despite having to do it almost every 5 minutes. He liked watching her flushed face when Gabby would praise her.

The group reached an intersection a couple minutes later and since no one really knew where to go from there, the Doctor suggested they visit the room dedicated to an artist he was good friends with.

"Zhe Ikiyuyu is a phenomenal artist," he said as he took the group down a turn. "I think you'd love her block transfer sculptures."

"Block transfer sculptures?" Gabby repeated in confusion then looked at Renata for an explanation.

"Uhm...it's a method of creating solid objects from pure mathematics," the blonde elucidated then added, "It's usually done by chanting."

"What?" Gabby laughed at the absurd idea. How do you sing and create sculptures? That sounded more like magic than artwork.

Donna, on the other hand, was giving Renata a strange look from behind. She'd been quietly listening to everything Renata said and she couldn't help but feel that the way Renata was explaining...sounded familiar. She just couldn't place it yet.

"And Zhe's a skilled artist," the Doctor added. "She trained on Logopolis centuries ago! She sings things into existence!"

He stopped in front of the right room and poked his head inside, only to find it completely empty. Gabby and Donna looked inside and wore similar confused expressions.

"Is it supposed to be empty, spaceman?" Donna asked.

"Uh, no…" the Doctor turned as if to leave but then poked his head into the room one more time to make sure he really was seeing it empty. "That can't be right," he frowned and then finally walked away.

"Where are we going?" Renata was right behind him.

The Doctor took them directly to the gallery's curator, who turned out to be a green-skinned woman with a head shaped like a potato...least that's what Gabby whispered to Donna who then snickered.

"What do you mean Zhe's vanished?" the Doctor demanded from the curator, nonethewiser of the snickering going on between his companions.

"A hundred years ago," the curator leaned against her desk and took a look at her fingernails.

"You don't seem very concerned," remarked Renata.

"You know what artists can be like," the curator practically snapped. "Zhe was the most mercurial and sensitive of the lot."

"Still," Renata put her hands together, her face scrunching as sarcasm dripped in her next words, "If someone I knew vanished a hundred years ago, I would want to know where they went."

"Does her private space elevator still work?" the Doctor had gotten the same careless vibe from the curator as Renata had.

"Yeah," the curator shrugged. "Pushy art dealer tried visiting about seventy years ago and he came down in quite a hurry."

"Is that supposed to be a warning?"

"No, just a head's up."

The Doctor didn't give the curator another look. He left the office in a hurry, leaving the others to promptly follow.

"What are we doing?" Gabby asked Renata once they had left the building altogether.

"Something's up there that made an art dealer rush back down," Renata said and had Gabby soon staring up at the starry sky. "We need to see what it is."

"Yeah, but... _where_ would that be?"

"A very long piece of string, basically, one end of which is held in geosynchronous orbit by a counterweight, in this case Zhe's private moon," the Doctor said with a wide grin on his face. He loved explaining that bit. "Used to be a creative retreat. She would invite other artists, writers, students...and the parties she'd host…" the Doctor's wolf whistler elicited a sharp glance from Renata.

"Please finish that sentence with what you would do at these parties," she said calmly, but that was a trick the Doctor learned quickly when she first arrived. He'd start saying something and it was usually the wrong thing that would get him in trouble.

Donna, in the meantime, had seemed ready to say something but caught herself again. Now her eyes were flickering between the Doctor and Renata, as if something had finally donned on her.

"But it's beautiful," Gabby had to circle the elevator before they would go inside. It was in a cylindrical shape made up of glass. "This will really take us into the sky?"

"Yeah, apparently," Renata answered and motioned the girl to go in first. Before she or the Doctor followed Gabby and Donna, she grabbed the Doctor's arm and quietly asked, "Are you sure this is safe?"

"The elevator? Of course," the Doctor almost laughed at the silly question as he walked inside.

"I meant the moon," Renata said through gritted teeth.

"Ooh," the Doctor turned to her with a thoughtful face. "One can only hope."

Renata's face was comical in his opinion. Her eyes were wide and half of her mouth had raised for quite an expression.

The way up to the 'moon' had been a quiet one, but even then the Doctor was still agitated. It was nothing like the last time he'd been there. Even the lovely friend who used to manage the elevator was now a dusty old robot in the corner that didn't speak. Something was definitely wrong. Once the elevator opened up, it let the travelers onto mushy grass. One wouldn't even think that this was a place in the sky. It looked just like the actual planet below them.

"Is that a sculpture garden?" Gabby spotted the millions of old-looking sculptures dispersed around the front garden. They weren't as pretty as the ones she'd seen down in the gallery. "They're all...stringy and…"

"Hey, just like him," Donna jerked a thumb at the Doctor. He didn't really approve of the comment.

"You two need to appreciate this artwork," he reprimanded. "The study of the living form is the basis for visual arts in billions of cultures across the universe! Well if you happen to have a living form that is...or eyes...or perception based on sensory input in a nervous system."

"I have no idea what you just said," Gabby gave him a strange glance.

"You get used to that too," Donna shrugged and went up ahead. "But you know what, I don't like these sculptures. Even though they're fake...it almost looks like their eyes follow you..." she circled one sculpture with a twisted, gangly body.

"Yeah, I don't quite like it either," Renata admitted. There was something in the air that felt terse to her, frightening…

"You three are over-reacting!" the Doctor opened his arms to gesture the sculptures on both sides of the path. "All these statues represent the artist's State of Mind. Her influences... Touch of Giacometti here and a little Henry Moore there! Zhe was always in search of the perfect subject. She could find beauty in any form - what an eye she had! Though she did love bipeds - the humanoid form. Changed her own gender willy-nilly to get different perspectives on it. She would jump forms to get a sense of what a biped looked like from the outside."

"She could change bodies just like that?" Gabby blinked.

"It's not that hard, trust me," Renata mumbled.

"Well, Zhe's case was more of body _augmentation_ ," the Doctor said. Zhe wouldn't have to die to change bodies. She would just think it and change in that moment!

"So, all the sculptures have been conjured into existence by your friends singing a bunch of numbers?" the more Gabby asked these questions, the more she wanted to disbelieve this was actually real.

"As crazy as it sounds," Renata shrugged.

"It takes a great concentration, skill, and awareness of quantum foam harmonics and, oh, I don't know, a nice voice?" the Doctor thought that should be enough to make these 'ugly' sculptures look better to the women.

"Sounds very complicated, though," Donna ducked to meet the face of another sculpture whose head seemed to be under one of their legs. "Did she really do it all by herself?"

"Right, like one of those fancy computer programs," Gabby thought of but the Doctor quickly shut that idea down.

"No, no," he shook his head. "She doesn't use computers or machines. It's a discipline that needs all the nuances and playfulness of living minds…"

Donna gasped when the sculpture she was staring at blinked at her. She stepped back and stared at it for another minute.

"What's wrong, Donna?" Renata noticed the way the ginger had suddenly froze in her spot.

"I, uh...I think that sculpture-" she pointed ahead, "-just…" She was about to finish when the sculpture raised its head and straightened its body. It grew twice as big and stomped a foot forwards. "Moved!" Donna whirled around and dashed towards the others.

"Is that supposed to happen!?" Gabby, wide-eyed, looked at Renata but she could guess the answer all on her own.

Now it was Renata's turn to seize Gabby's wrist and pull her forwards into a run. The statue chased them down the path and each time it stomped a foot, the ground rumbled like an earthquake which made it harder for the group to get away.

"What the hell kind of artwork is this!?" Donna shrieked at the Doctor who'd taken her wrist to run.

"Not artwork! Not Zhe's fault!" the Time Lord clarified before anything.

"Oooh of course it's not!"

"Would you two quit arguing and run!?" Renata actually passed the two with her own companion. "There's the gate!"

The building meant to be Zhe's personal workplace had a large silver gate barring them from going directly inside. As they neared it, the Doctor used his sonic to open the locks and was the last one to go through it before shutting it again.

"Are you okay?" Renata immediately turned to Gabby. She grabbed the girl's head and turned it both ways to examine her for any injuries.

"I've never felt so alive!" Gabby laughed and pushed Renata's hands form her face. "It's like every instinct, every cell in my body, just switched on!"

Renata incredulously stared at her.

"Doctor, that's not going to hold those things!" Donna was busy telling the Doctor. The creatures had reached the gate and were pulling and pushing against the bars.

"I have a feeling they're about to stop," the Doctor was staring at the creatures with a calm face. And not a minute later after he said that, the sculptures froze to become actual sculptures again.

"You're just showing off," Donna raised her hands and turned away from the man.

"How'd that happen?" Gabby asked him, but he had already turned for the building where a young boy was awaiting. "Oooh. Never mind."

The Doctor led the group towards the front steps and waved a hello at the boy who, upon closer look, was a young Asian man. "Hello! Is Zhe here? I'm an old friend of hers, the Doctor?"

The boy looked on with a straight face.

But that didn't stop the Doctor from trying to peek into the building's foyer.

Renata cleared her throat and pulled the Doctor back to stand with her. She offered the man a kind smile as she spoke up. "We're just looking for Zhe. I'm Renata, that's Donna and Gabriella."

"It's Gabby," the woman in question raised a hand to wave.

"I address you by your actual name," Renata shot the Doctor a look when she said that. "Because a nickname is _not_ a name." Her words flew over his head.

"Gabby's an artist too," he said instead. "Just wanted her to meet Zhe."

" _I_ am the ultimate apprentice," the young man finally spoke up. "There can only be one."

"That's a bit creepy," Donna muttered under her breath.

"Is Zhe around, then?" the Doctor moved on into the building, consequently pulling Renata with him since she'd been holding onto his arm again.

"You don't just come in like that!" she scolded.

"You seek to become an apprentice?" the young man followed the group inside.

"No, no, we just want to see Zhe's art as well as Zhe herself," Renata let go of the Doctor and turned back to the young man. "Would you be so kind to show us where she is, please?"

The young man nodded and moved around them to take lead. He brought them down a hallway, into a dark room where only a spotlight illuminated it. There was nothing but a sculpture of Zhe herself sitting cross-legged on an orange cushion over a table.

"She looks like an Egyptian goddess," Gabby remarked and eyed the sculpture's four arms positioned in the 'zen' manner. She curled her arm around Renata's and pulled the Time Lady forwards when suddenly Renata pulled her back. "What?"

"This isn't right," the Time Lady went again. She'd gotten the same vibe from before when they had entered the gallery. "That statue…"

But it was too late.

Before she finished that sentence, she felt a force pick her body and Gabby's to drop them somewhere else. It was quick, instantaneous that all took was a mere blink to find themselves in a different room.

"Uumm...what just happened?" Gabby tried to uncurl her arm from Renata's but now the Time Lady was holding on tight. "Where's the Doctor and Donna? And where are we?"

The room was now white, still empty, but they were also standing in front of the young man...who was now a girl.

"Where the hell did you put us?" Renata demanded from the girl.

"Weren't you just a boy a couple seconds ago?" Gabby tilted her head, very much confused.

"You can't fool me," the girl warned. "You want to be an apprentice," she raised a finger at Gabby. "But there can only be one and that's me! I am the ultimate apprentice!"

"Oh my God - this is all for a stupid _job_?" Renata now let go of Gabby's arm to rage at the apprentice. "Are you kidding me?"

The girl merely tilted her head as something seemed to be sprouting from the side of her neck. It turned out to be another head, the head of the boy they'd met outside.

"Gross," Gabby crinkled her nose.

"Focusing on the wrong part!" Renata whirled around to face Gabby.

"Right…"

"Go!" Renata ushered Gabby towards the door.

~ 0 ~

Donna was the first one to notice Renata and Gabby were gone from the room. The Doctor had been busy admiring the statue to notice it right away. But when he did, he turned to the apprentice - still a boy - and dropped his typical playful demeanor. "Where are they?" his voice had dropped to a low tone, dark too. "I'm not playing jokes. Where is Renata and Gabby?"

"I do not believe you dropped by only to see Zhe," the apprentice finally spoke up. "You brought the girl to become an apprentice but there is only one."

"He thinks we brought Gabby to steal his job?" Donna raised an eyebrow. "Listen here, buddy," her voice grew louder, "We don't care about some job! We just came to see some artwork!"

"Lies!" the apprentice raised a hand which quickly became claw like. It kept morphing until it appeared as if a pair of scissors had fused with his fingers.

"Seriously, I think you've got this all wrong!" the Doctor pulled Donna to run away together.

"No, Doctor," the apprentice chased after them. "I am exactly right! Time is running out for you!"

"That sneering, cleverer than thou attitude you have - this is my domain and I hear everything! I heard everything you said on the way up to the house! Your friends think the sculptures are frightening and _wrong_! You're worse than all of them! You think you know it all! You're not artist! Admit it!"

"If we admit it, do we get to leave _alive_?" Donna had to ask. She yelped when the Doctor pulled her towards a staircase.

"Not likely!" the Doctor told her. "C'mon! If this staircase follows the house's original layout, it'll lead to the roof terrace!"

True to his word, they came running into a lovely terrace full of flowers and unfinished work.

"Get the hell away from us!" they soon heard a familiar cry from below.

The Doctor dashed to the ledge and looked down to see Renata and Gabby fighting off another version of the apprentice. Donna did the same and was relieved to see them relatively okay.

Renata had just thrown a pot at its two heads and couldn't look more furious. Actually, she didn't even look scared. She was just incredibly _mad_. "Who do you think you are, huh? I _demand_ to see Zhe and put in a formal complaint!"

"Really? _Those_ are her threats?" Donna raised an eyebrow at the blonde, but the Doctor was just smiling.

"That's my girl," he said, or blurted. It might have been a blurt.

"Oh, _really_?" Donna's smirk was a red alert for him.

"I-I did not say that. Don't you dare tell her I said that!"

Donna's smirk widened.

"Donna!" the Doctor's yell pulled Renata's attention from below.

"Oh! Doctor! There you are!" she exclaimed.

The Doctor shook his head at Donna then quickly told Renata, "Find Zhe's studio! That way!" he pointed them to the left. "It's a glass wing building with big windows! Maybe she's there!"

"Okay!" Renata grabbed Gabby's arm and took off in the direction he'd pointed them to.

"So telling her you said that," Donna warned, much to the Doctor's dismay, but all was forgotten when they turned to leave and saw the apprentice under the threshold.

"Not you again," the Doctor groaned.

~ 0 ~

Renata and Gabby eventually found the building the Doctor was talking about. The big glass windows were the giveaway that they were in the right place. Renata brought Gabby inside, which turned out to be a regular workplace. Even as they dashed down the hallways, Gabby had to admire the artwork hanging on the walls.

"You know, you can stop to admire this when we're _not_ being chased by a jealous, homicidal apprentice!" Renata yanked Gabby away from one canvas the latter had stopped by.

"I know but it's just so pretty!" Gabby looked over her shoulder and saw the apprentice still coming after them. Renata continued to run and Gabby seemed to be on the same plan...until she passed one room she just _had_ to go back to.

"GABRIELLA!" Renata's scream wasn't enough to pull the human out of the room. With a groan, she darted back for the specific room.

It turned out to be a studio - Zhe's studio - which was completely cluttered with unfinished and some finished work. Bookshelves lined the four walls and were filled to the brim with art utensils, books, pieces of objects probably meant to be artwork.

"What a nice studio," Gabby gawked with a huge grin on her face.

"Hello!" Renata waved both her hands in the air, not that it mattered since Gabby was walking up to a desk. "Homicidal apprentice still after us! You remember that part, right?"

"How dare you touch those!" the apprentice appeared at the doorway, making Renata scream and jump back.

"Did you do these?" Gabby had taken hold of a pile of papers and turned to face the apprentice. Her eyes were full of wonder and fondness. "They are preliminary sketches for some of the sculptures outside, right? I love them!"

The apprentice paused. "Seriously?"

Renata's eyes flickered from Gabby to the apprentice.

"Seriously!" Gabby laughed. "This is kind of a strange thing to ask, seeing as you're trying to kill us but...would you mind showing me some more?"

"Are you kidding me?" Renata growled. "She's trying to kill us!" Gabby might turn out to be more like the Doctor and this was only her first trip! Renata dreaded to think what she might become after more time in the TARDIS.

"But she's an amazing artist!" Gabby thought that was a good enough reason, leading Renata to smack her own forehead. "Imagine what I could learn from her?"

"You really think all that?" the apprentice's female face had a small smile all of a sudden. "I...thought you were after an apprenticeship."

"With Zhe? Nah!" Gabby shook her head. "I've already got a teacher. Her." She pointed at Renata who was couldn't believe how this was going. "Could I see your work, though? I bet you're just as good. Who knows, I could even become _your_ apprentice one day."

"No, no," Renata wagged a finger at her. "You will not become an apprentice to a homicidal apprentice."

"Maybe she won't be a homicidal apprentice anymore-"

"- _stop_!" Renata pointed a finger at Gabby, looking completely incredulous. "You are just as crazy as the Doctor!"

Gabby laughed. "No, I just really love artwork."

Well, at least Renata could say that Gabby had gotten the apprentice to lose the second head and revert back to her female version.

"Alright, I've never really shown this stuff to anybody ever," the apprentice motioned Gabby and Renata to follow her to a set of double doors at the end of the studio room.

"I get it," Gabby put the sketches back on the desk. "I like to draw but I'm never sure if I'm any good."

Her words seemed to make the apprentice a bit more confident as she led them into the adjoining room. Its walls were covered in papers of sketches and drawings.

"I'm not going to pretend you know the first thing about sculpture block transfer or otherwise...but I think these are beautiful. I love that you began just by drawing." Gabby hurried to the nearest wall to stare at the sketches.

"Drawing is one of the first and oldest technologies for many life-forms, humanoid and otherwise," the apprentice said. She raised a hand to create a hologram of a nude woman. "We learn to forage, to hunt, to communicate, to make fire...then we draw. As soon as our basic needs are met, we begin to make things. Drawing if the very beginning of that impulse." The one hologram turned into two, then three and suddenly the room was filled with different holograms of creations.

Gabby and Renata saw more humanoid figures forming a circle as if it was a ritual. Behind them swirled an orange fish-like creature that zipped behind Renata. The blonde shot it a look, still mighty suspicious that the apprentice might attack them when their guard was low.

"It is almost as old as we are. We draw to understand the world around us. It's the beginning of representational thinking," the apprentice was saying. "It's our way of assigning meaning to everything to see. It's the beginning of written language, of symbols and code of numbers. And once you have numbers, you begin to understand at the very stuff from which the universe itself is made of."

Soon, equations started flowing into the air. Gabby laughed melodically as it passed over her head and zoomed past her face.

"All this from drawing," the apprentice said.

"Alright, stop," Renata ordered and her voice was hard enough to put an end to everything that swirled in the room. The apprentice lowered her arms and looked at Renata. The Time Lady was furious again. "I have had enough of this."

"Renata," Gabby whispered, but Renata pointed a finger for her to stay quiet and so Gabby did. Renata was kind of scary when she was mad.

"You have chased us all around this place with the intent of killing us out of pure jealousy that was _so_ misplaced! And I have no doubt that the other version of you is still chasing my friends," Renata stormed up to the short apprentice and glowered. "So I need you to take us to them. Or are you going to kill us now?"

"Renata, she's not evil," Gabby dared to speak again and it was still enough to earn her a glare.

"She just tried to kill us five minutes ago!"

"But she was just misunderstanding. I think we can trust her."

"In my experience, you can't even trust your own family," Renata's words held double meaning and Gabby knew it. There was no doubt in Renata's eyes. She firmly believed what she said.

"I am sorry," the apprentice suddenly said. Renata returned her gaze to the small girl. "I have misunderstood but...I can repair it. Let me impart some of my knowledge to you both."

"I don't need nor want to understand anything here," Renata snapped.

Gabby moved towards them and held one hand out for Renata and the other for the apprentice. "I'd love to."

"No," Renata looked away.

"Stop being stubborn," Gabby gently said, even smiling at the Time Lady despite the frown on her face. "We might even learn a way to find Zhe like this. Or do you already know everything?"

Renata slowly looked to Gabby. "Gabriella, this is just not a good idea. Even if the apprentice does mean well-" she shot a glare to the questionable girl, "-we don't know what might happen."

"Take a risk," Gabby wiggled her fingers at Renata, once again reminding the Time Lady too much of the Doctor.

 _'Take a risk'_ , he would say to her back when they were on Gallifrey. She was too much of a stickler to have fun. Everyone always seemed to know how to have fun except for her. Why couldn't she be more like them? More carefree?

"C'mon," Gabby gently took Renata's hand. "It could be fun."

Renata sighed. "Okay, fine. If I die, what's another face? This life was useless anyways."

Gabby gave her a strange look for her words, but the apprentice cut in to commence.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was so tired. He and Donna had been running for a good while now. One room changed into an endless pit that threatened to kill them...until he figured out it was just an illusion and that there was a rope for them to hang on (from which they got rope-burn). It brought them to another spiraling staircase which led them…

...back to the first room they'd come into earlier.

"That statue again," Donna crossed her arms at Zhe's statue. She was out of breath and if the Doctor didn't do something quick they were just going to die.

"Of course," the Doctor hummed. He moved towards the statue as he now took a better look at it. "That's why the apprentice distracted me...you're no sculpture…" he leaned closer to the face of the sculpture. "You're Zhe."

"Doctor! C'mon!" Donna wearily said. "What are we doing here?"

"Donna, we've been tricked. This isn't a statue, it's Zhe but...she's been trapped somehow."

"Okay, so what do we do?"

"I can maybe reach her telepathically. Keep an eye out for the apprentice, Donna."

"Keep an eye - _how_!?" Donna practically screamed, but by then the Doctor had joined hands with Zhe's (one pair anyways) and left her. "Oh, you're kidding me!"

~ 0 ~

The apprentice's room was covered in purple and golden butterflies. At least that's what the figures resembled. They swarmed to cover every inch of the room and yet Renata and Gabby didn't feel overwhelmed by it, nor like they would suffocate. It was as if they were a part of each other.

They were immersed into a different type of reality. At first, it was a series of incoherent images and noises that they saw. Renata presumed they were images of places they would perhaps see one day. She blinked as an image of a young woman with curly, ginger hair briefly appeared in front of them. Gabby's ears perked when the woman sang, in a beautiful voice, singing what seemed like a lullaby.

_"A little fairy comes at night,_

_Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown'_

_with silver spots upon her wings,_

_And from the moon she flutters down."_

The song and the woman disappeared altogether to continue the rush of images. Both Renata and Gabby screamed when they were sure that a blast of sharp icicles were about to hit them. A tall woman with a short, curly blonde hair seemed to be staring at them with glowing blue eyes. There was a clear, elegant-jeweled crown sitting on top of her head.

Then, just like before, she disappeared and from there the images that Renata and Gabby saw were from their past.

Gabby saw herself back in New York, fighting off the Cerebravores. Then there were Primavores and their beautiful butterfly wings flying around her. "This is incredible! I feel like I'm plugged into a new world! And that song…"

"It's everywhere," Renata drew in a deep breath. She could hear a song, a bloody song that made her feel...bad...but she didn't know where it was coming from.

But then she saw _herself_. Not this her right now but…

' _Zuriah!'_ someone called. Her first incarnation turned her head and with her flipped her fiery orange hair. She was laughing - or rather she was laughing at someone, but it was a good-natured laugh.

It was the Doctor's first incarnation who was responsible for that laughter. He had tripped over one of her boxes in her foundation's library and brought down a stack of books with him.

' _Doctor! I really can't leave you alone. What am I going to do with you?'_ Zuriah had come up to the man on the ground and squatted down next to him.

The Doctor pulled a book off his face and gave her a sly smile. ' _I've got a few ideas_.'

Renata blinked and immediately looked away. "NO!"

But then the song grew stronger. And it didn't have any words. It was just a tune - a melody that carried through.

"Oh, hello!" she heard Gabby say, and when Renata opened her eyes she saw an Ood very present in front of them.

The air around them had turned into a dozen colors swirling around the three.

"Is that you singing?" Gabby leaned forwards but Renata touched Gabby's arm to keep her from moving.

"Time Lady Renata, the Vortex Butterfly is coming," the Ood spoke up. "Be warned that if it rises - along with its companion, the Cosmic Butterfly - your song will end sooner."

"STOP!" Renata clapped her hands on her head. She screwed her eyes shut and fell to her knees. She didn't want to hear nor see more.

"I sense interference," the apprentice cut everything off and turned for the doorway where the other version stood.

Gabby, on the other hand, was more attentive to the Time Lady on the floor. "Renata, what happened? What did all that mean? I-I saw you and you didn't look like you! Neither did the Doctor! Plus that weird alien - what was that?"

The more she spoke, the more Renata wanted to yell at her to shut up. How could she have been so stupid to do this? Now Gabby knew more about Renata than Renata wanted anyone to know of her. And the Ood? She'd rather forget it all and just go home. She just wanted to go home.

' _Home. I want to go home.'_

Renata's head snapped up. She had _not_ said that aloud.

"Woah, what's going on?" Gabby had heard too, but not only that…

' _We're you, duh,'_ went her own voice against her.

Gold and purple butterflies flapped their wings around them. They weren't 'real' persay but they were real enough to be seen and heard.

"It's the Doctor trying to make contact," the male apprentice was telling the female on the side. Neither seemed to be that worried over the new butterflies.

"We must prevent it," the female apprentice said.

The two joined bodies, literally, and rushed out of the room.

"Wait!" Gabby called after them. "You can't just leave us here!"

' _We have to stop them!'_ went her voice again.

" _I_ was going to say that," Gabby frowned.

Renata pushed herself up to her feet and looked around. "What a mess."

' _We know. What a mess indeed,'_ her voice agreed.

Renata balled her fists in the air and decided to go chase the Doctor first. He needed to be safe.

' _Always keep him safe,'_ her voice said.

"Shut up!" she screamed frantically.

Gabby felt really guilty then. She'd been the one who convinced Renata to let the apprentice share her knowledge. She hoped the butterflies would disappear soon or Renata might just drop her off back on Earth.

~ 0 ~

Donna had picked up a piece of a table leg and was brandishing it at the two apprentices when Renata and Gabby ran into the room. "Nice of you two to show up!"

Renata rolled her eyes. "We were a bit busy, Donna! What's the Doctor doing!?" she saw the man standing in front of the sculpture - who was Zhe - and joined by the hands.

"Turns out that bloody sculpture isn't a sculpture! It's Zhe!" Donna swung the table leg at the male apprentice but missed. "And you two need to stay the hell away!"

"And he's gone off trying to contact her telepathically," Renata groaned.

' _Doctor, Doctor, always doing the same stupid things!'_

Donna froze for a second as she tried to decide whether or not she'd heard the echo of Renata's voice.

"It's a long story," Renata left it at that. She hurried towards the Doctor's body, not that he would know since he was deep in another realm. "Oh, you idiot, what have you gotten yourself into now?" she gently touched the side of his face, careful not to let her own telepathic abilities interfere with his trance.

' _Just like always.'_

Renata closed her eyes. This second voice was a truth teller, apparently.

"Okay, please stop!" Gabby put herself between Donna and the two apprentices. "You've really got all this wrong! The Doctor's not the bad guy. He doesn't mean any harm - none of us do."

"He's trying to connect to the originator and that can mean only one thing," the female apprentice scowled at her. She was back to being homicidal.

"He wants to be an apprentice," the male apprentice finished with the same frown on his face.

"No he bloody doesn't!" Donna snapped. "Doctor doesn't have the patience to sit still and draw! Ha! As if!"

"Please believe us," Gabby begged and looked to the female apprentice. "We had a connection, you must know that I'm not lying. And look," she gestured to Renata who was completely focused on the Doctor. "She's just trying to get him back. We're not lying."

The female apprentice studied Gabby then Renata for a minute. She slowly split from her male counterpart and raised her head. "She's right. I detect no deceit from them."

The male apprentice didn't seem to agree. "If you can't finish them, I will!"

"No!" the female apprentice raised her hand - which had turned into a shovel - and smacked the other apprentice's head. "We must weigh up the variables. This requires further information!"

"No!" the male apprentice argued back and raised his own hand, only instead of retaliating himself he brought the largest sculpture from the front yard and let it stomp through the wall.

Donna looked back at Renata and the Doctor. "We need him back or we're going to die!"

Renata couldn't argue with that logic. "I-I don't know…Doctor, can you hear me?"

~ 0 ~

Zhe was trapped in her own realm, out of her own accord. And as she was explaining to the Doctor how she came to be there, he heard the echoes of Renata's voice around him.

He looked around the blue realm and saw nothing but himself and Zhe. Still, Renata's voice kept calling to him.

"My artworks. The binary pair... They're in opposition... Not enough strength to keep them from destroying each other and us," Zhe brought one of her hands to her forehead. She seemed tired.

"Zhe, we have to go," the Doctor helped her stand straight with one arm around her waist. "My friends are in danger. I can hear one of them calling to me."

"I don't think I can make it," Zhe wearily said, letting her head hang.

"Oh yes we can!" the Doctor exclaimed. They just had to make it back to the origin of Zhe's force. It was so close, he could almost feel it.

Plus, Renata's voice got stronger and stronger. And that was only because on the other side, she was screaming as the sculpture tried to stomp on Donna and Gabby, She ultimately let the Doctor go to try and help them instead.

"C'mon!" she pulled Gabby and Donna towards a corner of the room.

"What are we going to do!?" Donna shrieked.

"I've no idea!" Renata shook her head. Even the apprentices were going at it against each other. And really, what did they have to fight against the big sculpture? Nothing, that's what.

But thankfully, a blinding light flashed from the Zhe's frozen body. It rocked the Doctor to the ground, but Zhe emerged from her trapped form and rose into the air.

"Enough! This little experiment ends here!" her voice roared. She swung one of her arms and captured the two apprentices in jets of white energy. "Binary Apprentice! Opposing aspects of my psyche - artists create! Never wanting to or knowingly destroy things!"

Zhe brought the two apprentices down and turned them back into what they had been originally: energy.

"Hello there," the Doctor had found his companions and Renata in the corner of the room. He looked completely fine with that big grin on his face. "You hear that? A block transfer artist in performance!"

It was very possible that one of Renata's eyes twitched. Her nose crinkled but more than it should have. She snatched Donna's table leg and threw it right at him.

Alright, so maybe he shouldn't have been so focused on that part. He should've focused on the homicidal situation they were in.

' _Oh, it's the Doctor!'_ Gabby's echo filled the room. But out of her excitement, more thoughts started spilling out, including what she thought about him and the TARDIS.

"Oh, stop it!" Renata berated herself, but her own thoughts were spilling through...only hers included more of her _past_.

' _Just like before!'_

' _The trouble follows!'_

' _Zuriah!'_

"What?" the Doctor's eyes had widened to the brim at the last thing they heard.

~ 0 ~

Once everything was back to normal, Zhe invited the group for a nice cup of tea on the terrace with the promise of a good explanation for the frightening apprentices. As it turned out, they were created due to, ironically, a creative block. Zhe accidentally created a physical manifestation of her self doubt with all her powers. It split into two and went mad from there. As a result, she trapped herself in a voluntary stasis in an attempt to drain their powers.

"I need to go home," Renata had said as soon as Zhe finished her story. She got up from the table and walked away, of course with her new friendly echoes.

"How long is that going to last?" the Doctor quietly asked Zhe since both Renata's and Gabby's echoes were still very much active.

"It should fade as soon as you leave," Zhe said, offering her most apologetic smile.

"Very truthful echoes, mind you," Donna remarked as she sipped her own tea. "I had one of Gabby's tell me, in a spectacular manner, that I was much older than her."

"Is that why she hasn't come from over there?" the Doctor nodded to Gabby who had positioned herself by the balcony for some time now. Donna shrugged.

Renata had come to stand next to Gabby, not looking at the human but instead at the yard ahead of them.

"Renata...I'm sorry about this," Gabby made a gesture to their combined butterflies around them. She shouldn't have let the apprentice touch her and Renata because now they had all this foreign alien stuff on them. "I-I didn't think of what could happen...but you did. I should have listened to you."

"Don't worry about it, it'll fade away I imagine," Renata drew from the Doctor's mind. That link was still active, but not for long.

"And about what we saw...the images...that alien saying the thing about the song and the butterflies-"

Renata closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about her death prediction. "Let's never speak of that. I don't want to."

"But you look scared," Gabby pointed out. "Maybe we should tell the Doctor-"

"- _no_. I don't want to."

Gabby kept quiet for a moment, but there was just too much to ignore like Renata wanted her to. "But the connection...it showed us images from our past - least that's what I'm assuming since I saw myself back in New York. You weren't you. And neither was the Doctor. Were you on your planet? And were you and him-"

"- _don't_ ," Renata turned to face Gabby, her face hard and empty of any emotion. She wanted to look as scary as possible to keep Gabby from drawing conclusions and saying them aloud. "I don't ever want you to speak about what you saw, do you understand? Those are _my_ memories. Memories you should have never seen. If you say anything about those memories to anyone I will personally drop you back on Earth in a snap of a finger. Understand?"

Gabby quickly nodded her head. "Aha. S-sorry."

Renata turned away from the girl and walked away. She wanted to find the TARDIS and refuge herself into her room.

~ 0 ~

"That was...I can't even describe what that trip was," Donna was very honest when the group had finally returned to the TARDIS.

"The usual, I suspect," the Doctor shrugged and turned to Gabby who was coming in last. "Whaddya think, Gabs? You want to keep going?"

Gabby bit her lower lip and looked at Renata. The Time Lady couldn't quite look at her right now. "I mean...I'd love to, but...Renata…"

The Doctor made a face and followed Gabby's gaze to Renata. "Renée, are you okay?"

"Yes," she snapped but went directly into the hallway without saying anything else.

"I think I angered her," Gabby hugged herself. "I-I should have just listened to her. She's the teacher. I'm...I'm the student." She went towards the hallway, like Renata, but she wasn't going to do any sleeping like a human should.

"What...just happened?" the Doctor scratched the top of his head.

"You're a dunce, you know that?" Donna remained by his side and leaned against the console.

"Maybe you should follow," the Doctor suggested and moved away from her. She rolled her eyes but let the comment go. She had something else she'd been wanting to say.

"Hey Doctor, I've got a question," she leaned off the console and turned around. She pressed her palms to the bottom of the control panel and smiled so innocently, it made the Doctor nervous. She had something up her sleeve. "Last time I heard, Renata didn't really know a lot about the world. I mean, she's smart cos she's from Gallifrey but...she never really traveled."

"So?"

"She never came to Sirus Star 5, did she?"

The Doctor blinked at the straightforwards question. "Excuse me?"

Donna folded her arms and gave him quite a look. It was unnerving, really. "I just kept wondering how Renata knew what every single thing in that art gallery was and then it hit me - her explanations sounded like _you_. And they _were_ you!"

"Donna, what are you going on about?" the Doctor gave himself away by focusing completely on the console. He'd brought them off the planet and into the vortex, but for some reason his hands kept playing with the controls.

"What did you do, spaceman, that made Renata talk like you? And don't lie to me because I'll smack you."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Fine. I just let her into my mind. No big deal."

"Except it is," Donna said. "Do you just share your mind with anyone, then?"

"Well, no, but-"

"-you did with Renata-"

"-because she needed help and I wanted to help!"

"Doctor, it's just me now," Donna moved around the console until she standing next to him again. "You've been a little...closer...to Renata lately. And to be honest, that worries me a little bit."

The Doctor gave her a crazed look. "What?"

"Don't get me wrong, Renata seems kind and caring and...more put together than you but-"

"-oi!"

"But have you ever really asked yourself who she is?"

"What kind of question is that!?" the Doctor frowned.

"I'm saying...do you really _know_ things about Renata?"

"Yes!" the Doctor answered a bit too fast to sound genuinely right. "I've talked to her and I know about her family and her job."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Do you know her sister's name?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer but...he didn't actually know the answer.

"Or what exactly was the nature of her job? And I'm not just saying what she did - I really mean, _what_ was her job? Who did she help? What did she do?"

"Donna-" the Doctor shook his head. He couldn't believe she was actually trying to make Renata seem suspicious.

"How about where she lived on Gallifrey? Who her parents were?"

"Enough!" the Doctor's voice hardened and the look on his face was not one you wanted to be on the receiving end of.

Donna knew he was upset, but she just needed to get this out there for both their sake's. "I think there's a reason why she's so reclusive about her past. Don't you feel like she's hiding something?"

"I have no right to pry about her past lives, alright? And it doesn't matter because I like Renata _now_. I like _her_ \- who she is right now."

"But there could be more to her and you'd never know because she doesn't say."

"Donna…"

"Doctor, who was that 'Zuriah' name Renata's echoes named?" Donna folded her arms and watched the Doctor's face shift through several emotions. "I saw the way you reacted when you heard it. Renata looked terrified. Who was that? If she was someone you knew, Renata didn't tell you, did she?"

The Doctor's gaze fell to the console again. _Zuriah._ How could Renata know that name if he never told her?

"Doctor," Donna rested a hand on his arm, "I like Renata, I really do. I'm not trying to make her a bad guy I'm...I have questions. And I know that if I have these questions, then you've had them for a while. Why haven't you asked her?"

"Because I don't want to lose her," the Doctor said quietly but his tone indicated this should've been obvious for her. "Renata is the only other of my people. I already started way wrong with her."

"Right, because you kidnapped her and forced her into the TARDIS," Donna mumbled, bit the Doctor said a sharp 'no' that made her stop altogether. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor was thinking about a time he'd forced himself to forget. 1913 when he was John Smith, the man who fell in love with Renata and simultaneously killed her family. _Again_.

"What are you keeping from me, spaceman?" Donna narrowed her eyes on the Doctor.

"I can't," he shook his head but he was a fool if he thought he would be getting away from Donna Noble.

"Oh no, you tell me right now what you did. What could be worse than kidnapping her?"

"It's a long story."

"And I have time," Donna straightened herself up and motioned him to start talking.

And for some reason, the Doctor felt like he could really use the talk.


	16. Between the Lies There's Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor takes Renata to a quaint town so they can have a talk about Renata’s past. Meanwhile, Donna and Gabby make their own trip to see an old friend.

Unlike Renata who preferred to go out and eat when she spilled a centuries-old secret, the Doctor chose to talk with Donna in the console room. He doubted Renata would be coming back anytime soon. Gabby was probably off in her own room too. It was just going to be him and Donna for the rest of the 'night'.

And starting to talk wasn't that hard, least not the part of how he and Martha ended up in 1913; the Family who was chasing him; the Chameleon arch; hiding amongst humans for 3 months. But then he got to the part where he'd met Renata. _That's_ where it got harder.

Donna could tell it was too. He'd shifted away from her, his sentences became more like fragments with a few stutters here and there. "When did talking about Renata make you _this_ nervous?" she ultimately asked just before he got to the part where he, as John Smith, was going in search of Renata in the nearby town with Matron Joan.

"I don't know!" he defensively said. "This wasn't me!"

"It kinda was," Donna made a face that pretty much told him he was being dramatic. " _You_ sought her out, went looking for her in the town...all cos _you_ wanted to see her."

"That's not true!"

"Yeah? Then what happened afterwards? Did you find her?"

"You know what, I think this story is done!"

"Oh no, spaceman!" Donna latched onto his arm before he would take off on her. "You started the story, now you finish it!" And by the hook she had on his arm, there was no getting out of it.

With a sigh, the Doctor answered in a very quiet tone, "Yes, I did. And she wasn't happy about it! Nearly shut the door in my face!"

Donna let go of his arm but only to laugh.

"It wasn't funny! She practically threw me out so I had to go looking for her in the town where there were no doors!" The Doctor then went on to explain how he'd been responsible for knocking poor Renata out in the town.

Donna may have laughed again and told him that definitely sounded like him. The dynamic between the two Time Lords may in fact be like that. The Doctor was very discouraged to continue, but Donna promised him she'd take him serious and listen from now on. So, he went on.

He told her about the journal John Smith had created, full with his actual memories. He told her about the dance he'd invited Renata to (and how she'd been practically forced to go along with it thanks to Matron Joan), the Family chasing after them, and finally the decision John had to make to save them all. Of course the ending was what got Donna.

She was completely serious then. "Doctor, you mean to tell me you fell in _love_ with Renata?" her eyes were wide and blinking fast.

The Doctor, for his part, was fervently shaking his head. "I-I didn't - John Smith did! _He_ fell in love with her, not me!"

Donna's eyes narrowed on the stammering Time Lord. "Then why are you so defensive about it?"

"I-I'm not!"

Donna raised one eyebrow at him.

"...am I?" the Doctor took a moment to think about things. He looked away from Donna but even when he tried to think about 1913, his mind refused. Each time he thought about it, he remembered _everything_ he did. From the moment he met Renata to the last moment they shared.

But thankfully he had Donna to point out things for him. And she did.

"Doctor, _you_ sought her out-"

"- _he_ did, not me-"

"- _you_ sketched her-"

"-lots of people do that-"

"- _you_ asked her out on a date-"

"-well, I-"

"-and then you kissed her right before you saved the world," Donna finished with a very big smile, though there was a trace of amusement on it. "The 'go big or go home' thing took a whole other level with you. Kind of romantic, in your own alien way."

"Donna," the way the Doctor said her name was more like a plead than anything else. "I didn't...I did more harm than good, okay? And John Smith just going out there and falling in love with her was the worst mistake he ever did."

Donna folded her arms with purpose. "Doctor," she moved up to him with a hard look in her eyes, "Look me in the eyes and tell me that again. Tell me that you mean it."

The Doctor wanted to look away but he just couldn't. And it was frustrating! "I don't know! "You know what? It doesn't even matter! This isn't why I told you the story - it was to show you how I already screwed up, okay? That's what I always do - I screw up."

Donna's face softened once she realized the real point of the story. "You're guilty. You don't ask Renata questions that you want to because you're guilty about what happened in 1913. Whether it's about the deaths or her heart - _hearts_ \- you feel guilty."

The Doctor's shoulders slumped as his head hung. "With what face - what _audacity_ \- would I go and pry about her past? I can't, Donna. I just can't."

Donna rested a comforting hand on his arm. He wasn't alone in these crazy thoughts and she wanted him to know that. "I get that, I really do, but I also think you are entitled to some answers if she is living in your TARDIS."

"I stole her," he said with a sour smile. "I literally kidnapped her."

"But she still stayed, out of her own accord. She lives here because she wants to, Doctor."

The Doctor had wanted to believe that for a long time too, but there was always an inkling of doubt gnawing in the corner of his mind. Renata was so different from him, the polar opposite actually. Maybe one day she'd grow tired of the way their trips went or even himself and she'd...leave.

"Why don't you let the night pass and then tomorrow you and Renata can go out somewhere, just the two of you," Donna suggested after a few minutes of silence. "Gabby and I can take it easy here while you're out." Just as the Doctor shook his head, Donna added, "You know you want some answers, don't play stupid. Do what I'm suggesting and you'll get some answers."

"What if I push her too much?" there was a clear fear in the Doctor's eyes that made Donna sympathize with him. "And then she wants to leave?"

"She won't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because Renata is _fair_. If you deserve answers, then she'll give them to you." Donna seemed very sure of what she was saying. It almost let the Doctor to believe it too.

Truth was, he was still scared.

~0~

Renata hadn't slept that well. She'd tossed and turned in her bed, hoping that the world would take pity on her and let her sleep just for a few hours. This was one of the days she actually needed sleep and of course it happened on the day she'd royally screwed up. Just when she'd finally clambered onto some sleepy trance...someone knocked on her door.

 _That's all the sleep I'm getting,_ she concluded with a tired yawn. She got up from bed and sleepily walked to the door.

Of course the Doctor stood on the other side. Of course.

"Yeah?" she yawned and brought a hand up to her mouth in an attempt to cover it up.

The Doctor could tell she was incredibly tired. He'd waited as patiently as possible for a few hours of sleep to pass by before gathering courage to come up Renata's door. It didn't look like the waiting had been for anything since it was obvious she hadn't slept at all.

"Uh, I...morning?" As he said that, his expression showed even he was confused. Why would he say that? That's not what he wanted to say at all.

Renata pulled a hand over her hair. "Morning."

"We, um - well, I'd like to...have a word with you," the Doctor finally got it in one go, but now he had to anxiously waiting for Renata's reaction.

She looked nervous but not surprised. "Umm...let me just...let me get changed, okay? I'll meet you in the console room in a bit."

"Sounds good," he nodded. She quickly looked away from him and closed the door. Yeah, she definitely was avoiding him.

Inside her bedroom, Renata was beginning to panic all over again.

She went all over the room looking for something to wear, but the truth was she was making time to think of a good reason to tell the Doctor why she knew the name he had never spoken to her. After about fifteen minutes, Renata finally found the will to get dressed and leave her room. She came out in a button-up, three-quarter sleeve green blouse tucked under a long cream-colored skirt. She pressed down her long hair then took a deep breath before she started for the console room.

Of course the Doctor was nervously waiting for her there. Soon as he saw her coming in, he straightened his body but he might have shifted a few times as she came up to him.

"Where's Donna and Gabriella?" she asked first since, on her way to the room, she hadn't heard a noise. It was almost as if it was just them two again.

"They, uh...Donna asked to be dropped off at home for now," the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. The request had come at a perfect moment since he wanted to talk with Renata and could do without the questions Gabby kept throwing his way. The girl was curious about Renata's behavior and she wanted answers.

"And Gabriella?" Renata feared for the young girl's attitude towards travelling now. After how she treated Gabby, Renata thought sje might want to leave now before things got worse.

"She's off with Donna. She's never been to England, actually," the Doctor offered Renata a small smile.

"I need to apologize to her," Renata sighed. "I am a terrible teacher."

"She was fine, honestly. You don't need to worry about her."

Renata nodded, but she didn't look very convinced. "So...where are we going, then?"

"Umm, I thought somewhere nice and calm might be good. I know you prefer that."

Renata's eyebrows raised together. "What did you have in mind?"

The Doctor just smiled. He preferred to show her.

~0~

 _He_ _ **does**_ _listen,_ Renata concluded when the Doctor led her out of the TARDIS into a quaint town in France. It was far from the nearby city - which so happened to be Paris - but close for Renata to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. As soon as she'd stepped out of the TARDIS, Renata was greeted with a peacefulness that she hadn't had in quite a while.

Not to mention the air smelled sweet. Somewhere, there was a bakery she was sure.

"1923 Sceux," the Doctor walked beside her along the short sidewalk. "Nice town, perfect for visitors just wanting to...talk." The smile on his face was soft and well-intentioned but it was still nerve-wracking for Renata. "And best of all, it is always nice and quiet here."

Renata raised her eyebrows in content. "I'm impressed. You do listen to me sometimes."

"I always listen. Sometimes you just happen to say things I disagree with."

"You mean like checking the environment before you leave the TARDIS?"

"Ah yes, that would be a big one. There's a sense of excitement when you go into the unknown."

"Not really," Renata shook her head, though there was a light smile on her face when she looked away. "Sometimes you can get into real trouble, which I'm sure you've already done before."

"Maybe so."

The Doctor led her towards a small shop on the edge of the street. Renata instantly knew this was the place responsible for the sweet smell in the air. Renata chose to sit in one of the tables outside the shop. She actually really loved the scenery and wanted to soak it up as much as she could.

"Do you like crepes?" the Doctor asked after taking a seat across the table. "They have really good crepes here."

"I've never had one," Renata made a face at the dessert.

The Doctor's mouth fell open in shock. "What!? You've never had a crepe before? How!?"

"Because it's a dessert and far too sweet for my liking," she raised one hand to wave. "I remember Joan liking them but they always had too many things in it."

"Oh, you have no idea what you're missing out on, Renata. You should have one."

"I'm curious, do either one of us have money to pay for what we want to eat here?"

There was a smug look on the Doctor's face when he reached into one of the inside pockets of his coat. He showed her (or rather waved) a couple bills in his hands. "I knew you would ask," he then said because he never carried money otherwise.

"Ah, so you really do know me," Renata looked away in embarrassment.

"Well, bits and pieces of what you tell me. But...I know there's more. You're 756, how could there not be, right?" Renata's face expressed a guilt the Doctor picked up on fast. "Oh I didn't mean you're obligated or anything, I just...I mean…"

"It's alright, Doctor," Renata cut into his panic moment. She knew he meant well - he always did. "You have questions and...I owe you some answers." It's just she didn't exactly want to give them. "Go ahead, ask away." Truth was...she was scared. She'd kept this lie going longer than she thought she'd be capable of and now telling him scared her even more. He would be angry with her, so angry. It would be a natural reaction but it was a reaction that, lately, had been keeping her up at night when she desperately wanted to sleep.

"I'm not going to pry into your past lives but...there _are_ some things that just don't make sense," the Doctor admitted. "Specifically things around you and me. Like...how do you know so much about me?"

"Everyone knew who you were back on Gallifrey," Renata started with the technicalities of honesty. "You...did a lot of things that earned you a reputation."

"Yeah, but...certain...things about myself are things that only someone who actually _knew_ me would know."

"Like?"

"Let's start with the fact you seemed to know, straightaway, that my inventions don't usually work. How would you know that?"

"I…" Renata knew she didn't have the right answer to that she didn't want to give away her real identity.

The Doctor waited a decent amount of time before he started coming up with his own ideas...that he shared out loud. "I mean, there's also the facts that you didn't want me around back in 1913 and it wasn't due to what I did to Gallifrey," - and just as Renata opened her mouth to retort, the Doctor added - "You told me that. You didn't even care what I did. That means you had something else against me." And the fact he still didn't know what it was, irked him. She had no reason to despise him like that if it wasn't for what he did in the war. He tried, often times, to convince himself that it really was the reason why she hated him in the beginning. But in the end, he knew that was a lie. There was something else about him that made her despise him and he wanted to know why. "And then there's the name…" his eyes seemed to bore into Renata's, making the Time Lady lose air suddenly. "A name that you shouldn't know. A name that only _I_ , in this present world now, would ever know. _Zuriah_. How do you know that name?"

Renata swallowed hard. This was it. The pivotal moment that would change everything between them if she dared to answer with the truth. It was her chance to come clean; a chance to finally rid herself of the guilt she carried.

But it was also the moment she had feared for so long. Her stomach churned at the thought of his reaction, his _fury_. He would surely think she'd been playing him, making fun of him. All the things he told her so far about himself, some of them included things of Zuriah…

_Tell him Renata._

_Tell him right now!_

Renata opened her mouth, bit it was incredibly dry.

_Tell him and get it over with!_

_Do it!_

_Do i-_

"I'm…" Renata swallowed hard, feeling something sharp at the end of her mouth. "I...knew her."

~0~

"How did you get us in here so easily?" Gabby quietly asked Donna despite being alone in an office...of UNIT. Without much struggle, Donna had gotten them into the UNIT headquarters. The place was high-tech and secure, which only led Gabby to be even more confused how they pretty much just walked in like nothing.

"Oh, we recently had a run-in with UNIT," Donna leaned against the desk behind her. "You know the ATMOS car incident?"

Gabby's eyes widened as she remembered the catastrophic event. "Yeah. Those were done by the aliens, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Donna folded her arms. "Big time. Well, the reason the Doctor and Renata even knew about it was because an old friend called them."

"An old friend? You mean, someone they know works in UNIT?" Gabby asked just a second before the office door opened.

Dr. Martha Jones walked in with a smile indicating her surprise to see Donna back. "I thought they were kidding when they said Donna Noble was requesting to see me…"

Donna smiled back at the woman. "I never kid."

"It's nice to see you again," Martha chuckled and hugged the woman. "What's it been for you? I hope not years. I'd be terribly offended."

"Nah, just 2 months."

"Good." Martha pulled away and turned her head in Gabby's direction. The young girl had been studying Martha since she'd walked in. "And this is…?"

"New companion - _Renata's_ companion, actually," Donna gestured to Gabby who started to silently wave.

"Renata's companion?" Martha caught the words fast. Her eyes were wide, clearly stunned, but a smile slowly started making its way across Martha's face. She almost laughed even. "Really?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded then looked at Gabby. "Well, c'mon, talk! You can definitely talk!"

Gabby was well aware she was being weird again, but something about meeting a previous companion of the Doctor's and Renata's made her incredibly nervous. Donna told her they were visiting an old friend but...this woman seemed way put together. She was a _doctor_ at _UNIT_. It was a bit intimidating. It meant that Renata and the Doctor made friends with _important_ people.

"I'm Martha Jones," Martha took initiative and held out a hand to shake Gabby's.

"G-Gabby Gonzalez," the girl shook hands with Martha, but it was done in a trembling manner. "S-sorry. I-I'm sort of new and…"

"It's all still a wonder, huh?" Martha laughed, totally understanding it. She figured she must have worn Gabby's stunned face for at least the first two adventures she had with the Doctor. "Totally natural. But I'm really glad to know that Renata took on a companion. I never thought she would! You must be one hell of a girl to make her do that."

Gabby blushed. "I-I didn't think so, but..."

"You are," Martha told her again. She then moved around her desk to take a seat. "And I never thought you'd come visit me. Are Renata and the Doctor alright?" she asked in a tone that made Gabby wonder if something bad happened even before she arrived to the TARDIS. She looked at Donna and saw that the ginger had also gone a bit grim.

"They're moving on from Jenny," Donna assured Martha, "But now they're sort of having problems _between_ them."

"Oh Donna, you have no idea how long that's been going on," Martha sighed. She presumed that Donna still didn't know about their past, so Martha would keep out the fact that Renata and the Doctor had been having problems before any of them were even born. "I assume neither of them know that you're here?"

"Yeah," nodded Donna. "I told the Doctor I was just visiting home while he and Renata went off somewhere else. Gabby hadn't seen England so the Doctor never asked."

"They're off together, then?" Martha raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smile trying to spread across her face.

"Not in that sense," Donna gradually took a seat across and prompted Gabby to do the same. "Although now I'm starting to sense that type of vibe from them. I mean, I had before too but I didn't know whether to believe it or not."

"Alright, so to what do I owe this visit?"

"Honestly, we want to know more about Renata but...that Time Lady doesn't really talk, does she?"

Now Martha scrunched her face. "Yeah, not really. Took me a whole year to crack her shell but even then it was a struggle. Still is."

"We're not being nosy, we just want to know why Renata is the way she is," Donna said then glanced at Gabby. The girl would never say it so straight-forwards but she was thinking the same thing as Donna.

"It doesn't make sense," Gabby ultimately added. "There were some...things that happened to us on my first trip and...when I tried talking to Renata about them, specifically the things concerning her, she snapped. It was like I trespassed into a different world...one where I didn't belong."

Martha figured Gabby must have prodded (accidentally) into Renata's love life and elicited the wrath of the terrified, love-stricken Renata. God knew that was a side of Renata no one should have to deal with. "I'm sure Renata feels terrible about that," Martha said first. "And if she hasn't apologized then I'm sure she will in a matter of time."

"It's okay," Gabby sighed. "I don't want to anger Renata by saying the wrong words. She's my teacher but...I'd like to see her as a friend too."

"And we're in luck," Donna mused with a smirk on her face as she gestured to Martha, "Because Dr. Jones here is Renata's only friend up to date; she's the only one Renata actually confides in. Don't know how you got her to do that."

Martha playfully rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, because you already have what we want."

"Listen, Renata is a...complicated woman. She's sort of like the Doctor: she has so many secrets because she's so old."

"She's 756," Donna remembered from her breakfast with Renata.

"She's 756!?" Gabby repeated in shock. "But she doesn't look like she'd be!" Anyone would say that Renata looked like a woman in her early thirties. Everything about her screamed elegance and classiness.

"The Doctor's 902," Martha said just to see Gabby's stunned reaction again. It was rather fun being on the other side of the conversation, especially since Gabby was much younger than her and Donna. "They're the type of aliens that don't show signs of age...except in the eyes. If you look closely into their eyes, you can see just how ancient they are."

"I...I never thought to do that," Gabby scrunched her face. "What kind of aliens are they? I've asked Renata but all she says is that she's a Time Lady. What's that even mean?"

"They're from a planet called Gallifrey, but they don't really like to talk about it," Martha explained, figuring she could help Renata by making Gabby avoid that topic altogether. "Their planet is gone. That subject is truly raw for them so...don't bring that up unless they do."

"Got it," Gabby dutifully said as if she were taking notes. And maybe she was...in her mind.

"They never really talk," Donna sighed. "I mean, I just got the Doctor to tell me about 1913 with Renata. You were there, huh, Martha? When that happened?" Martha solemnly nodded. "The Doctor's still very guilty about that, you know. It's why he allows Renata to keep her entire life bottled away from him."

"Well, Donna, she's not obligated to tell the Doctor anything about herself," Martha felt the need to point out.

"No," agreed Donna. "But there are some things that she should say. And I think she should probably start with why she hated the Doctor from the gecko. It was 1913 and Renata slammed the door in his face when he hadn't done anything to her." And the more Donna watched Martha uncomfortably shift in her chair, the more she suspected Martha knew a lot more about that incident than the poor Doctor did.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was stunned; beyond stunned actually. Renata had just admitted to knowing the one person he had loved the most in his lives. "You...you _knew_ Zuriah?"

Renata absolutely hated herself right now, despised herself. How could she have told him that type of lie!? _When_ had her mind come up with that incredibly stupid answer!? She had the chance to come clean and she blew it.

Like always, she blew it.

"Y-yes…" she brought a hand to her warm forehead.

"What - and you never said!? Even when I told you her name!?" there was that hint of anger Renata feared. She could only imagine his reaction if she'd told him the straight truth.

"I-I panicked," she said. That wasn't a total lie. "You...you _know_ how Zuriah was...what you and her...what you...were…"

"She told you," the Doctor stated, getting his confirmation from her lowered gaze. "She told you about us? How...I am very confused here. Zuriah never told anyone about us. She was embarrassed of us-"

"- _no_ ," Renata cut in sharply. She may be a liar and a terrible person but she would not allow him to ever think that about her. "She wasn't embarrassed of you. She was just aware that the relationship was a dangerous one. But she was never embarrassed of you."

The Doctor still didn't seem very convinced. "I just...I don't understand...how did you two…"

"We worked for foundations," Renata said, thinking it was the easiest (and logical) reason to give. If she was going to go with the lie then she might as well make it work. "She led her own foundation. Our paths ultimately crossed."

"And how did you two get so close enough that she would tell you about us?"

"We just clicked. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't think it would be important."

"It is," the Doctor nearly snapped. "Do you realize I have never met anyone else who knew about Zuriah? After things ended between us, it was like she disappeared. She made herself disappear."

"She regenerated," Renata bit her lip. If anything, this lie would at least allow her to divulge information that wouldn't give her up but would give some clarifications on things like these. "She regenerated a bit before she graduated. You can imagine that, after the way you two ended, she wouldn't want you to see her anymore."

"So her regeneration came as a blessing then," the Doctor shook his head with a sour smile on his face. "Right. Because I was always a nuisance."

"Don't say that," she scolded, but it just irritated him even more.

"I was! I loved Zuriah so much that I was willing to leave everything behind just for her. I asked her to run away with me, to get out of Gallifrey where it wouldn't matter if we were together...and you know what she said, right?" the sourness that covered the Doctor's face was so uncharacteristic of him, it pained Renata.

The blonde Time Lady gave a small nod of her head. Her face was guilt-ridden, but the Doctor didn't notice due to his own feelings. "She said no…" she whispered her answer.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "Because, I guess, in the end...we were too different. She was a proper, high-class woman and I was just too... _me_."

"You were high class too," Renata pointed out.

"But I didn't act like one."

"Doctor-"

"-and I guess no matter how hard I tried making Zuriah live her best life, she just wasn't all the way convinced. And you know that. She had to have told you…"

Renata chewed on her lower lip until she felt the oozy blood on her tongue. "Doctor, just stop! If there is anything you need to be sure of is that Zuriah loved you so much! She was a scared, naive girl that should have said 'yes' but...her circumstances..." Renata couldn't say more, she just couldn't. If she started going into full details on why she had to say no to his proposition all those centuries ago, she would definitely break down. "Doctor, you have to believe me when I tell you that Zuriah _loved_ you so much. You were always the love of her life."

~ 0 ~

"You know why Renata hated the Doctor so much, don't you?" Donna asked Martha. The UNIT employee nodded her head.

"I am so confused," Gabby admitted quietly. "I-I just got on board and suddenly there's so many secrets and backstories I-I don't know what to think or say."

"Gabby," Martha gave the young girl a kind smile, "I'm not going to lie, having Renata as your teacher is going to be a bit...complicated. She's a reclusive woman but it's not because she doesn't like you. She's just been a cautious woman all her lives that...it's become a part of her personality."

" _Lives_?" Gabby picked up on first. "And what do you mean she's been cautious?"

"Yeah, I'd like that explanation too actually," Donna pointed.

"It's those secrets," Martha told them both. "Renata's had them all her lives. She's learned to be cautious at a young age and she's just gotten used to it now."

"What kind of secrets could she have?" Gabby asked.

"She's 756," Martha reminded. "Her secrets may not be as dangerous as the Doctor's - because he's traveled so much - but Renata's secrets are very powerful too. They could hurt some...people...very badly."

"What - so she just carries them around like a burden?" Gabby frowned. "But that's...that's insane! She can't tell anyone!?"

Martha shook her head. "I'm afraid she chooses not to."

"But you know?"

Martha then nodded. "But I'm not the person that would alleviate those burdens."

"It's the Doctor," Donna deduced quickly. "I _knew_ there was something going on between those two."

"Donna," Martha tilted her head, but the ginger shook her head.

"No! This just confirms one thing you know?"

Martha dreaded what Donna might come up with.

"Renata has feelings for the Doctor, doesn't she?"

Gabby's eyes were wide as could be. Was Donna really right!? She looked to Martha to see any indication of the answer…

~ 0 ~

"I never understood _why_ Zuriah said no to me." There was a type of distance on the Doctor's face as he spoke. He was remembering the pure anger on Zuriah's face when she turned down his offer to run away. There were lots of tears in her eyes and her screams could have echoed in the building. "I mean, on some level I knew that I _was_ , inherently, asking her to leave her family for me but...I thought she would say yes, because she loved me and...we wanted to be together above all."

Renata blinked fast to get rid of tears in her eyes. She remembered it too. The images had stayed so clear despite the centuries that passed by. She would never forget that night - it'd been the worst moment of her lives. "Family is important, Doctor. It was to her. But you know what? She loved you the most, she did it for you."

"For me?" the Doctor scoffed so harsh that Renata flinched in her seat. "She said 'no' to me...for me?"

There was one secret that she just couldn't bring herself to say, the very one that was the core reason she declined his proposition, but that one was just too painful. "I know it's terrible but trust me. Besides, there were more things in the play. If she had said yes, she would've broken an innocent man's hearts."

"But she broke _mine_ instead," the Doctor said quietly. "She chose everything above me. But I can't fault her, can I? Because that would make me selfish. But sometimes...sometimes I think…" he sighed, "How would things have turned out if she had come with me? I would have...showed her the world. Anything she wanted, I would have given it to her. I would've told her each and every day how much I loved her. And who knows, maybe she would still be alive right now."

Renata's face softened. She couldn't help it now; her tears rolled down her cheeks. It was too late now to say the truth. She'd dug her own hole and now she would die in it. Still, her feelings pushed her to do one more thing.

She got up from her chair and moved to the Doctor's. She didn't pull up another seat but instead wrapped her arms around him for a tight hug. It was a surprise for the Doctor but he accepted it nonetheless. She always had such nice, soft, warm hugs. He'd be mad to turn one down.

~ 0 ~

"I cannot confirm nor deny that," Martha cleared her throat and pushed her desk chair forwards.

"Oh please," scoffed Donna. "You're Renata's best friend. She had to have told you that."

"Donna, it's not my secret to tell-"

"-yeah, but I know it now," Donna said with a straight-forwards face. "It makes sense. And I suppose it would make sense that doesn't want to outright tell the Doctor things about her life if it included her marriage and whatnot."

"Okay, hold on," Gabby spoke up and for the first time since they'd arrived at UNIT, she spoke not out of nervousness. "We're no one to pry into that possible love story. We only came here to figure out why Renata acted so reclusive and we got that, Donna. She just has a lot of secrets and, even though I wish we could help her...we can't force her. Least now we know to be a bit more understanding."

Martha slowly smiled at the girl. "You're going to do wonders for my Ren." Gabby took the compliment with a beam. "Would you ladies like to grab a cup of coffee before you head back?"

Gabby exchanged a glance with Donna then both nodded.

"Lead the way, Dr. Jones!"

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor and Renata finally returned for Donna and Gabby, the two women were back in Donna's home as if they'd never went in search of Martha.

"Oh, it smells kind of nice," Donna sniffed the air in the console room. "Like chocolatey…"

Renata raised a white box in her hands. "French crepe. I thought maybe you and Gabriella might like one. I tried one myself and I had to admit it was rather nice."

"Told you," the Doctor flashed her a smug smile from across the console. She rolled her eyes and looked at Donna again.

"So you two are fine, then?" the ginger asked the two aliens while slowly taking the box from Renata.

"Yeah," the Doctor was the one to answer. He gave Renata a smile that she returned. "Did us some good to be alone and talk."

Renata only wished she could have done more...but she was a full-blown coward. And one day, she was sure, it would come back to bite her. Still, it did seem to do some good talking. Least the Doctor didn't look at her with suspicion anymore. Of course now he felt free to mention Zuriah more often so that would be fun later on.

"Enjoy the crepe," the Doctor told Donna and Gabby. "They're the finest, if I say so myself."

"You probably do," Donna playfully rolled her eyes. "C'mon Gabby, let's have us a sweet snack!" She headed for the hallways, but just as Gabby was about to follow, Renata called her aside.

Needless to say Gabby was more than nervous as Renata brought her into the first door the hallway would give. "Look, I'm so sorry!" the girl blurted as soon as Renata closed the door behind her. "I shouldn't have asked so many questions about yourself! I'm really sorry! But please don't bring me back to Earth!"

"Oh Gabriella, I would never," Renata sighed. She was so responsible for screwing Gabby up so badly. "I'm the one who needs to apologize. I should have never yelled at you like that, much less threatened you like that. You should know that...that I have a very hard time getting along with people. I-I'm not that good at socializing. I don't get human social queues very well due to a lack of travelling."

"Oh," Gabby blinked. She'd learned from Martha that Renata did indeed have difficulty making friends, but she wasn't expecting Renata to confess that herself. The way Martha put it, Gabby shouldn't be expecting anything from Renata in terms of conversations.

"And you should know one more thing," Renata drew in a deep breath before confessing, "Everything I said back in the gallery - all the information I told you about the art work - wasn't coming from me. I sort of...read the Doctor's mind to know the information."

"Come again?" Gabby tilted her head. "You can read minds?"

"Not 'read minds' per say, but...we can sort of telepathically communicate and see into each other's minds. The Doctor, of course, knows all about that gallery since _he_ was the one who visited it all the time, not me. He was the one who knew about the artwork and he...he let me see into his mind in order to make you believe that _I_ knew the artwork." Renata sighed and awkwardly folded her arms over her chest. She was even shifting on her feet which truly surprised Gabby, because up until now she hadn't seen Renata be nervous. "The truth is, Gabriella, I can't be a teacher to you because I don't know anything. I haven't traveled much - in fact I only started a couple months ago. The Doctor should be your teacher. You should be _his_ companion. I'm not apt for that job. I'm sorry." She couldn't face Gabby out of sheer embarrassment. Admitting you were useless wasn't something easy to do, but Renata felt she should at least do one good thing today and if it wasn't towards the Doctor then Gabby should be next.

"That's not true," Gabby's response drew Renata's gaze again. The girl didn't look very disappointed, or upset, by Renata's words. "You're wonderful. And, yeah you might not know everything but...no one does."

"The Doctor does," Renata smiled. "He'd be a great teacher."

"Okay," shrugged Gabby. "Then he could be our teacher, but I want to be _your_ companion."

"Why?" there was an honest confusion in Renata's tone, and expression, that motivated Gabby to explain it thoroughly so that Renata wouldn't have a doubt in her mind.

"Because you're classy, you're proper and, you're an alien that still acts like...well, a human. I mean, you remind me of my Mom. You give stability and in a place like this-" Gabby gestured to the TARDIS, "-where everyday is danger and unpredictability, I really need someone to bring home back to me. And I don't mean home as my actual home on Earth but... you teaching me that my home can be anywhere. Because home isn't just where you live, it's where you feel nice and warm and...happy. And you give that to the Doctor and Donna. Plus, you see things differently than the Doctor. You're more...elegant, and you act in a way that makes me want to follow. I don't want to _be_ you, but I'd like to be a better version of myself and I'd like my teacher to be you."

Gabby actually brought tears to Renata's eyes. "Oh Gabby," Renata pulled her into a tight hug, the action startling since Martha had warned Gabby that Renata also wasn't the touchy-type. "Thank you so much."

"Uh, no, thank you," Gabby patted Renata's back. These aliens were so strange. When they pulled apart, Gabby only had one more thing to say. "So, about what the alien said about your song…what did it mean it would end sooner?"

"I'm not sure-"

"-I think you do. Are we ever going to tell the Doctor about it?"

"No," Renata said without even a moment of thought. "I don't want him to know."

"But it sounds really important and...well, isn't that sort of a prediction about your...death? 'Your song will end sooner'. That's got to mean that you'll die earlier?"

"Gabby, it doesn't matter," Renata tried to be casual about it. "Because guess what? Even if I do die, my people are the type that when you die you just change faces and it's a done deal. I would just get a new body and move on. So we need to move on too." She offered a big smile as she headed for the door. "Now go and have that crepe with Donna. It's truly delicious. Couldn't get rid of the Doctor's smug face after I told him that. Go on."

Gabby nodded and walked out, but she wasn't able to let go of that topic like Renata wanted her to. Without even realizing, Renata had given Gabby one powerful reason not to let go. Renata had called her 'Gabby' instead of her full name. Renata vowed that she would never use nicknames in place of a person's name. She had to be nervous. She had to be scared. And why shouldn't Renata be scared?

Death was coming for her and earlier than previously thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P. S: I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	17. Dorothy Bell and the Osirans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time travelers are back in New York for an interesting auction that leads them to a celebrity and alien Gods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

For some reason, the Doctor had expressed a need to go to New York due to some strange readings he was getting from the TARDIS. None of his companions, including Renata, had much trouble accepting the impromptu visit since it was the perfect chance for Gabby to visit home and catch up with her family. While Gabby was at home, the remainder of the travelers went to a top-notch secret auction of 'alien' objects.

"Do I hear a hundred thousand? 200,000?" a chirpy young woman raised a finger at a gentleman in the crowd responsible for the new bid amount.

Way in the back, the Doctor rudely snorted.

Renata, who sat beside him, shot him a glance for his action. "Would you keep it down? I thought you were the one who said we needed to keep a low profile. Whatever that means."

"It just means staying low and not getting noticed," Donna chimed in from her seat which was on Renata's left.

"Yes, thanks Donna," the Time Lady huffed and crossed one leg over the other then put her hands over her lap. "I don't see the need for us to entertain this silly auction. Why, pray tell, are you making us sit through this, Doctor, when we all know you can just steal whatever you're looking for in its storage room?"

There was an inevitable smirk on the Doctor's face as he glanced at Renata. "Are you saying I can just steal something and be on our way?" Renata rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "Renée, I am shocked - no, _flabbergasted_. Maybe I _am_ rubbing off on you."

"You wouldn't be so lucky," Renata flatly said, though there was a hint of pink on her cheeks.

Donna eyed the two aliens as much as she could from where she sat. Those two had been acting...different. And by different, it meant less arguing and more harmless bantering. There was a more clear closeness between the two that, honestly, gave a warmer vibe to the whole TARDIS. Gabby was the only one who often seemed to be on edge about the two aliens, but she wouldn't say why.

"Doctor, why the hell are we here anyways?" Renata asked after watching some suited man pay over a million dollars for an object she was pretty sure was only a hair dryer. Almost all these objects, actually, resembled more human characteristics than alien as they were made out to be.

"I told you, I got some strange readings back in the TARDIS that I couldn't ignore," the Doctor picked up the pamphlet they'd been handed at the start of the auction and went through it again. When he found the item he'd been waiting for, he called one of the employees to inquire over it. The helpful woman informed him the object needed to be bid on privately at the front desk.

So he had the trio get up and go do just that.

"I'm pretty sure you don't have the kind of money to pay for these things," Renata whispered to the Doctor on their way out.

"And I'm pretty sure they don't have clearance to be _selling_ this object," the man retorted with. He pulled out his sonic from his coat's inner pocket and activated its communication feature. "Message to UNIT HQ, NY. Flag this location with a clean up requirement for a few suspicious items, maybe ex-Torcheood - immediate effect."

"What's Torchwood?" Renata dreaded to ask but instead of getting the answer from the Doctor it was Donna who replied. She vaguely remembered the name from her time with the Master, but she could do with a fresh reminder.

"Some facility that was responsible for getting a good half of us killed with their robotic men and weird pepper bottles."

"She means Cybermen and Daleks," went the Doctor who wasn't very interested in retelling the story. He only informed Donna of the full story because she wouldn't leave him alone about it.

"What!?" Renata exclaimed. She honestly could have paid a little more attention while she was trapped with the Master. Once she got to thinking, she did remember a few times the Master mentioned the name 'Torchwood' sometimes but it wasn't like she paid much attention to him. He had a nasty habit of insulting her most of the time so she learned - as a survival mechanism - to ignore a lot of his words.

Before the Doctor could defend himself from any looming argument, he felt a very hard fist connect with the back of his head. He fell forwards, flat on his stomach and with a nose first-down on the ground.

"Doctor!" Renata was horrified at the sight.

"Uh, Ren…" Donna very gently shook the Time Lady's arm, meaning for Renata to look ahead but the woman was too focused on the Doctor.

"Don't make a move," warned a different woman, the culprit of such a blow. She was a young dark skinned woman dressed in all black. She held a high-tech gun on the trio as well as the Doctor's fallen sonic screwdriver.

But instead of being scared, Renata was furious. "And just who the hell do you think you are? And put that thing down before you hurt someone else!"

The woman raised an eyebrow at Renata, as if questioning whether or not Renata was actually demanding things from her when _she_ held the gun. "I don't think you realize your position right now."

"I think I do, actually," the Doctor groaned as he got back on his feet. Renata yanked him to her side and pulled him slightly down in order for her to better check the spot where the woman's fist had knocked him.

"English accents," the woman noted from the trio. "So pompous. Lot 28, the artifact. You bought it and I need it."

"Wait a minute," Donna's eyebrows wrinkled together. "You think we bought it? Whatever the hell it is, we don't have it."

"Ha, sure," the woman scoffed.

"We really don't," Renata's eyes hardened. "And what kind of asking involves punching someone then threatening them with a gun and a stolen sonic?" she pointed specifically to the blue-lit sonic screwdriver in the woman's hand.

"A sonic?" the woman tilted her head at the sonic screwdriver, specifically eyeing the blue glow at the top.

"Unauthorized user alert," went the Doctor all of a sudden and in the next moment the woman was shocked. It was at the same time that the Doctor tackled the woman to her floor. "I haven't got a collection ticket. We're going to look silly at the front desk!"

"Don't be silly with the human who's trying to kill us," scolded Renata.

"We want to know who bought the artifact too," the Doctor informed the woman as he swiped her gun away then sat on the floor like nothing had occurred.

"Really?" the woman sat up, all of a sudden smiling. "Oh, well then we maybe we can work together."

"I think not!" went Renata and Donna at the same time.

"Yeah, I don't think my friends are very keen on you," the Doctor muttered as he disarmed the gun and dropped it to his side.

"Well, we're after the same thing so we can help each other out," the woman insisted as she pushed herself up to her feet. "And in good faith, I'll even tell you my name: Cleo."

"Oh and that's supposed to make us forget you nearly tried to kill him?" Renata gestured to the Doctor still sitting on the floor.

"And us!" Donna reminded with a huff.

"I only wanted the artifact before it got into the wrong hands," Cleo shrugged. "I imagine that's what you all want as well?"

The Doctor swayed his head specifically at Renata, as if trying to say Cleo made a good point. The Time Lady's face indicated pure warning. Do. Not. Do. It.

"We really can't let it fall into the wrong hands," the Doctor reminded her. Renata huffed and looked away, knowing what he was going to do next. "Alright Cleo, you can help us. But don't use that gun again on anything or anyone or it'll just zap you like my—" he swooped up his sonic from the floor, "-little friend did here."

"Oh, so we're just going to ignore my very wise advice not to let the evil woman come with us?" Renata was at his side the moment they started walking again.

"Better to have people who want to kill us near us then far away where we can't see them," he said.

"I'm not sure I like that logic," Donna mumbled to Renata who agreed with a nod of her head.

In a short amount of time, Cleo had taken the lead with a high-tech tracking device the Doctor knew she hadn't gotten out of the local market.

"Where's that Jeridian energy tracer from?" he inquired as Cleo led them out the backdoor of the building.

"Does it matter? I got a signal," Cleo shrugged.

"It really does, though."

"That car right there!" Cleo pointed a car that was just pulling out of the alley into the street.

The Doctor aimed his sonic at the car that was too far to stop. At the same time, Donna yelped that they were no longer alone. A group of armed men were making their way out of the building as well.

"C'mon!" Renata grabbed both Donna and the Doctor to lead them behind a dumpster to hide in. Cleo came as well but she was more interested in the readings of her tracker than the men almost finding them.

"I can't trace the signal!" the woman groaned as she continuously played with the controls.

"But I did," the Doctor grinned at his sonic. "I can pinpoint the power signature to within a few meters once it stops moving."

Cleo lowered her device to look at the man. "Okay, who _are_ you? And what the hell is that?" she nodded to the sonic.

"Oh, right, we haven't been introduced," the Doctor smiled so casually Renata wanted to smack him on the spot. "I'm the Doctor, that's Renata and that's Donna." He then got up, pulling Renata who then pulled Donna towards the street after the men had passed. "Why are you so interested in this artifact, Cleo?" he asked once they were walking on the sidewalk.

"Not _me_ ," Cleo put a hand over her chest. "I just hunt that stuff for collectors. A lot of people are interested in that thing but I've no idea why."

"You never thought to ask what you were hunting down?" Renata incredulously glanced at the woman who merely shook her head. "Ignorance is not bliss, you know? You could get hurt."

"I know how to take care of myself just fine," Cleo smiled. "And I don't care where that stuff's from as long as I can put a high price on it."

"Lovely," Donna shook her head.

"Taxi!" Cleo called at the corner of the street, wailing her hand in the air. At her beck and call, a yellow taxi club stopped in front of her. "Come on! See as you're so in charge…" she pointed at the Doctor, "I'm following you. We'll split the proceeds."

"She's not kidding," Renata side-glanced the Doctor with a tilted head.

"Better to have her near," he reminded her of his logic that she could not disagree more with. She was very worried over this mysterious object the Doctor refused to tell her about, saying it was just something that shouldn't be in a human's hands. And this Cleo woman didn't exactly give her a good vibe.

And all those feelings of concern and worriment were, without her knowledge, reaching someone else in the city. A young girl whom Renata wanted far away from them right now.

The tracing had brought them to the upper east side of New York. It was an upscale building that had the end of the trace.

"It's coming from that apartment," the Doctor led the way towards the door marked '4G' at the end of the hallway. Just as he knocked, an small explosion rocked them all to the ground.

Cleo shrieked after feeling most of the explosion hit her. "What did you do to my gun!?"

"Did you seriously just try to shoot us again!?" Renata was about to lose it. The woman had tried shooting them while their backs were to her.

"I told you I didn't like guns," the Doctor frowned at Cleo.

Suddenly, the door he'd knocked on opened up to reveal a ginger woman with another gun pointed at them.

"Oh, that's just great!" Donna huffed at their odds.

"I don't know who you are but you need to come in right now before I shoot you all," the ginger warned and stepped aside.

The group were forced to go in, but secretly the Doctor knew it was their best chance to get the object back anyways.

"Oh my God, you're Dorothy Bell!" Cleo gasped at the sight of a middle-aged blonde woman. Said blonde woman was scowling back.

"What, the movie star?" Donna squinted her eyes for a second before they widened like Cleo's. "Oh my God! It is! You are!"

"I'm your biggest fan!" Cleo laughed in delight as she truly took a look at the apartment. It was full of trophies and awards and pictures. "Is this your Oscar for Tennessee Waltz? They should have given you the Oscar for the love scene in the Great Pretender too. It was so intense—"

"Shut up!" the ginger woman raised her gun as well. "Or I'll shoot you!"

"So shoot me!" Cleo laughed as she picked up a golden trophy.

"Oh my God I'm so confused," Renata deeply exhaled. Since she started travelling with the Doctor, she understood less and less of what went on with her life but this point... _this_ was a new low point.

"Put that down!" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Of course," Cleo's lips suddenly curled into a smirk. "Catch!" she threw the trophy directly at the ginger woman, smacking her in the face and knocking her down. With the commotion, Cleo then reached for a golden object sitting on the table. It resembled a gun but with a wide circular end.

"Don't be so stupid," hissed Dorothy. "Don't touch that! You've no idea what it is!"

"Oh, but I do," Cleo shrugged.

" _This_ —" Renata gestured at Cleo for the Doctor to see, "-is why I told you that she shouldn't have come!"

"Yeah alright, I see your point," the Doctor rolled his eyes. Of course she would pick this moment to say 'I told you so!'.

"I know what you want to use this for, Dorothy! You want to use it to stop getting old. To get young again — to reverse the aging process," Cleo looked at the blonde who seemed now a bit frightened about her knowledge. "People like you think this thing is a fountain of youth. But it isn't. I mean, you _can_ use it for that purpose but it can be used for so much _more_." Cleo ignited the object and a golden energy struck from it to attack the ginger woman. A golden and orange glow surrounded the woman but it looked like her figure was beginning to shrink. When the glow died down there was a baby girl with a tuft of orange hair right where the woman had been.

"Did that thing just turn her into a baby!?" Donna's eyes bulged to the point of nearly popping from her head.

"This something you can 'use', Cleo? How do you know so much about it?" the Doctor asked the woman who definitely seemed comfortable with the object than an ordinary human would be.

"I could ask _you_ the same thing," Cleo retorted, her eyes narrowing on the Doctor. She dragged the object over Donna first, making the ginger woman squeak in terror.

Renata quickly positioned herself in front of Donna. "Don't you dare!"

"Why? I'm having way too much fun formation point but I'm not a total killjoy. Let's give that movie star what she wants!" Cleo pulled the 'gun' on Dorothy but the Doctor jumped in front of the blonde and received the blow instead.

"Doctor!" Renata exclaimed, almost running towards him when Donna caught her arm. "You need to stop! It's not having the same effect on him!" Renata begged from Cleo as the golden energy surrounded the Doctor.

Unlike the ginger woman, he didn't shrink but instead the energy became stronger, blinding. The Doctor groaned and clutched his head in terrible pain.

"Retro-regeneration!" Renata realized just as the man before him changed. With a new fierce determination, she ran directly for Cleo and tackled the woman down. "GIVE ME THAT THIS INSTANT!"

"Doctor…?" Donna hesitated to help the man on the ground, since he looked nothing like the Doctor she knew. This man had thinner hair and glimmering blue eyes, not to mention more protruding ears.

"It's me, Donna...just...stop them…" the Doctor, in his 9th incarnation, raised a finger towards Renata and Cleo currently battling it out for the damn object causing all the trouble.

Donna turned to the two women but before she even stepped towards them Dorothy beat her to it. All three women had a grip on the object but Renata, being stronger, seemingly was getting the upper hand.

"Renata! You need to stop! The local time field is in flux, be careful!" the Doctor tried getting up but that retro-regeneration was a strong thing. His legs actually felt wibbly-wobbly.

"Doctor — that thing is glowing again!" Donna noticed the golden energy beginning to surge from the object. "But no one's shooting!"

But there came another explosion that threw every women in different corners of the room with only a billowing golden energy afterwards.

At the same time that Renata felt a new surge of energy - the same energy in the air - course through her blood, Gabby felt it from her location. Her best friend, Cindy, was busy babbling about something while they walked the night streets of New York but Gabby had to stop listening. There was something in her head and in her heart that was telling her, yelling at her that Renata was in trouble.

By the time the Doctor and Donna woke up, Cleo was gone with the artifact. The Doctor, now back in his current incarnation, dashed for Renata who was outcold on the ground.

"She's back to normal," Donna pointed at the ginger woman now getting up as well. "Everyone is."

"Hey Renée — wake up," the Doctor gently pulled Renata into a sitting position, but the Time Lady remained unconscious.

"Can somebody help me?" the ginger woman was trying to move Dorothy's body to the nearby couch. Donna figured she was better off helping the humans than trying to wake up a Time Lady. Between the two of them, they moved Dorothy and all the meanwhile Renata stayed unconscious.

"Renée, you're, uh...you're not waking up…" there was a hint of fear in the Doctor's tone as he relentlessly shook Renata's body. He had no idea what happened to her and what could possibly keep her out could like this. What if he had finally hurt her so badly that she was...she was...

Renata gasped awake suddenly. Her eyes flickered from one side to the other as her brain caught up with what happened. "What the — Cleo!" her expression morphed into a deep scowl. "I told you we shouldn't have trusted her!" Her expression, however, seemed to fade when she noticed the Doctor's face. "What? Why are you smiling like an idiot?"

The Doctor had a growing smile on his face, but it was spreading far too much. "I thought you were really hurt..."

"Well, I just got zapped with some energy! I have no idea where it came from but-"

The Doctor pulled her body forwards for a hug, instantly quieting her. "You just scared me," he whispered as he held her tightly.

Renata blinked out of surprise. Slowly, her hands raised to rest on her back, but it was done rather awkwardly. She wasn't used to this type of touch from anyone. She'd made a damn good job keeping the Doctor away from her but it'd been getting harder lately. "Doctor, I'm fine," she patted his back and just barely resisted the urge to bring her hand up to his hair. She could've probably ran her fingers through it to ease his nerves...

But that was probably something a _friend_ wouldn't do. Donna certainly wouldn't.

When the Doctor finally pulled her away, he still held her by the waist. He didn't even let her go when he pulled her up to her feet. He only studied her body to find any obvious injuries. "When we get back to the TARDIS, I'm going to run some tests on you just to make sure you're alright."

"I already told you that I'm fine," Renata rolled her eyes. Honestly, he was making a big deal out of nothing.

But she was thinking like he was. "This isn't the first time you've been hit with an unknown energy."

"Right..." So maybe she hadn't thought about that but she wanted to focus on the bigger problem: Cleo and the missing artifact. However, it was then that ginger woman — who introduced herself as Vivian — brought them to Dorothy and explained her situation.

As it turned out, Dorothy had some type of illness that was going to end life very soon. Hearing about this magical artifact that could cure anything, Dorothy sought out to buy it no matter how much it cost. After running a few quick exam on the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor realized that Dorothy was now connected to the power field of the artifact and that it was giving off even stronger signals than before. It meant that wherever Cleo and the artifact were, they would be able to track it with Dorothy's help.

"Uuh, Doctor…" Renata was the first to spy Dorothy's body levitating off the couch. "Don't think that's supposed to happen."

"Oh my God, what is it now?" Donna stepped backwards while the Doctor rushed to get up close.

"What's happening to her!?" Vivian shrieked in horror.

"If I didn't know better, I would say she was regenerating," the Doctor blinked, clearly flabbergasted with the sight.

"Hello?" they suddenly heard Gabby's voice. Renata spotted the young girl poking her head into the room. Along with her came an Asian girl with black hair.

"How'd you find us?" frowned Renata. She really didn't want Gabby anywhere near this place.

"You...wouldn't really believe me," Gabby smiled awkwardly since even _she_ didn't understand how she'd found this place so fast. All she knew was that someone — Renata — had been in trouble and she just followed that sense. It brought her directly to this apartment. "Are you okay?" she walked up to Renata with a full etched concern on her face.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Um, Maybe because you was that with some artifacts energy?" Donna reminded, something that earned quite a look from the Time Lady.

"Energy? What type of energy? Did it hurt you?" Gabby's mind immediately went to the prediction that Ood had made. What if this was the place where Renata would die?

"I'm fine," Renata smiled as wide as possible, almost as if she was reading Gabby's thoughts. She looked over Gabby's head and saw the black-haired girl. "And who's that?"

"Cindy," the girl introduced herself with a small wave since most of her attention was landing on the walls so clearly pointing out Dorothy Bell's life.

"She just followed me, sorry," Gabby apologized. In all her running, she didn't exactly tell her best friend where she was leading her to.

"Uh, excuse me!?" Vivian called back to Dorothy's situation. The unconscious woman was glowing white and still levitating. "She's pulsing now!"

The Doctor hurried to the window to see the reflection of the same glowing energy shooting into the sky.

Dorothy's body moved so that her head was closer to the ceiling and her feet below. The glow around her was becoming unbearingly blinding. But just like that, it died down.

Dorothy Bell stood in front of them, looking younger than ever. She was dressed in all white that consisted of a long pencil skirt tucked over a blouse and with a blazer. She was even wearing a 50s white hat.

"Ooh, so not regeneration but _rejuvenation_ ," the Doctor blinked.

"I was a bell and now I'm a key! I'm both!" Dorothy laughed, even the sound of her voice sounded completely new.

"She's now glowing orange," Renata raised an eyebrow and looked at the Doctor. "She's just rejuvenated and now she's glowing orange. How much trouble is this?"

"I have no bloody idea," admitted the man. He brought a hand to scratch the top of his head. He'd never seen anything like this.

The smile on Dorothy's face slowly faded as she looked out the window. "That looks wrong," she said suddenly.

"What does?" the Doctor watched her carefully. "The city?"

Dorothy looked back at the group, letting her bleached blonde hair flip over her shoulder. She walked up to them and smiled at Renata. "You in-took part of my energy."

"Did not mean to, honestly," Renata took a cautious step back.

"I know, and I am so sorry."

Renata tilted her head. For some reason, that didn't really sound like it was coming from Dorothy. "Sorry…? For what?"

Behind her, Gabby gulped. Was this another reminder of what was coming?

But Dorothy suddenly groaned as she staggered on her feet. The glow around her became a little bit stronger in that one moment. Everyone rushed to help her stay on her feet.

"Dorothy?" the Doctor called. "You _are_ still Dorothy, right?"

"Who else is she supposed to be?" Cindy was staring at the entire procession like a true civilian: she was _so_ lost. And a bit scared. What the hell had Gabby brought her into?

"I'm not, yet I am. How strange. We are merged as one. But then again, not quite as one...missing final component," Dorothy spoke in pauses and in different voices. One was hers and another sounded like a computerized female voice.

"We?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "You and who else? Tell me what's wrong, how are you feeling?"

"Nothing is wrong. I can put everything together they it's supposed to be. The city, I can make it better. More efficient." Dorothy turned away from the group and walked towards the window. She touched the glass with one palm and in that instant disintegrated the glass into nothing. The same blinding light that had her earlier once again enveloped her as she shot into the sky.

"What is going on with her?" Donna couldn't understand and she wasn't the only one.

"She's taking the new ones for a spin! Vivian where is she heading?" the Doctor turned to the ginger woman. "What's the first place Dorothy would go to?"

"The hospital. St. Joe's. Not for treatment though, she's funding a new wing and they're building it now," the woman quickly answered.

"Ah, Now I understand."

"Why we wanted the artifact?" Vivian sighed. "She wanted to be able to see the construction work completed, to be there when it opened."

"It's all sad but defying death is a huge mistake," Renata pointed at the woman, not that she thought a human would understand. It was natural that a human — with such short life spans — would want to elongate their lives.

"Are we going to follow her?" Gabby asked the Time Lady who then pointed a thumb at the Doctor.

"You think he's going to let it go?"

Gabby smiled and shook her head.

~ 0 ~

After leaving Vivian back in the apartment, hoping that they would have some luck and Dorothy might just go back to the apartment where her good friend was, the group rushed to follow the trace they had on Dorothy. Like Vivian had said, Dorothy had come to the hospital she was funding. With swift movements of her arms, she finished the construction herself and left a pretty damn good building.

On their way, however, a black car drove past them and an angry Cleo yelled at them through the passenger's door.

"I really hate her," Renata shook her head.

"Same," agreed Donna with a similar scowl on her face.

The car had stopped not too far from them and out came Cleo with two other men. They were making their way towards them and fearing they would get in the way, the Doctor ushered Renata forwards.

"Renée, try talking to Dorothy," he said as soon as they stood a few feet from the woman. She was still gazing at the newly finished hospital, almost as if she wasn't even aware that they had found her.

"What? Why me!?" the Time Lady frowned.

"Because she seems to like you? Just try it please," the Doctor gently pushed her forwards. "We can't afford to lose her when we don't understand what kind of abilities she now has."

Renata knew he was right. It would be irresponsible to let Dorothy get lost in the city again. "Fine," she huffed and walked towards Dorothy. "Um...Dorothy?"

At the sound of her voice, Dorothy turned around with a dreamy smile. "Hello again. See what I did? Nine extra levels. There's everything they will need," she gestured to the building behind her.

"It's all great…" Renata admitted it was a cool power to have. "But...maybe we should take it easy. It's not very wise to go running about using these abilities when you don't know how strong they are or what side effects can they have on you."

"Well honey, I do feel a bit wobbly. It's all so new and strange but I can't say I'm enjoying it. but to be honest my dear Renata, listen to your instincts. You will totally get what's going on." As Dorothy said those words, Renata stiffened as she had no idea what Dorothy was going on about. Dorothy walked up to the Time Lady with the sweetest smile anyone could have. "Looking at you, I can see a glow around you…it's fading. Unfairly too."

"Oh please just stop," Renata rolled her eyes and stepped away. "I need you to listen to me and just take a breather."

"Um, Ren?" Gabby called from her spot. She'd moved away from the Doctor and was pointing at the man arguing with Cleo and two other men. "That's not sounding very good."

"Yeah, got that," Renata sighed. "Look, Dorothy, I just need you to come back with me so we can make sure everything is okay."

Dorothy backtracked several steps before the glow around her became a dark red. She levitated into the air and struck a hand forwards. All arguments between the others ended when the artifact came zipping out from one of the men's pockets and into Dorothy's hand.

"Goddess, we have awaited for your arrival!" one of the men with Cleo, a man in a white lab coat named Hanif, exclaimed.

"That's ours," Dorothy's voice overlapped with the computerized voice from before. "Mine. That's what was missing."

"Dorothy?" Renata called from below. "Remember that thing I said about taking a breather? Now might be the right time to take it. Please?"

"Internal enhancements in progress. Biogenetic overhaul completed." Dorothy's hand seemed to merge with the artifact and disappeared altogether.

"Dorothy, we really need you to listen!" called the Doctor, but the woman just smiled at him.

"I'm fine," she assured. "Look at you all. So many possibilities. You Cleo, I haven't forgotten about you," she raised a finger at the woman in question. "You going to behave yourself now?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Cleo gave a quick nod of her head. "I really _am_ a fan."

"And Doctor, you are an adept, present in the here and the now and yet _not_. You move through this reality like smoke, a beautiful, dangerous idea. You are a very complicated space-time event."

"Oh come now, I bet you say that to all the boys!"

"Not the time," Renata shot him a quick look.

"Don't joke," scolded Dorothy, very much sounding like Renata in that moment. "I saw what you did. You made Vivian stay at home. You kept her safe, protecting her."

"It was just an instinct…" the Doctor tried to say, but Dorothy shook her head.

"No, you're attuned to the Flux Of potentialities. If she had come here this man—" Dorothy pointed at the man suited in black, Erik, who'd come along with Cleo, "-would have shot her as she tried to protect me. She would be dead now. In a world parallel to this one, Vivian is dead."

"What?" went the man indignantly. "But I haven't!"

"I can _see_ the possibilities," Dorothy began to lower herself to the ground but even then the glow around her hadn't dissipated.

"We came here only to welcome you," Erik began to say when the second man, Hanif, added.

"And to collect, humbly, our reward."

"Oh really — _that's_ what brought you here," Donna scowled at the two men.

"We know only what our forebears told us," Hanif said. "Generations of us have guarded the secrets of your kind for Millennia. You are a herald, one who the return of the Gods."

"Now wait a minute," the Doctor called for the attention before it got more lost. "Dorothy thought the artifact was a fountain of youth while you think it's a radio for talking to the gods, is that it? It isn't either of those things."

"Let me guess, you've seen this before?" Renata wasn't even asking at this point, she just presumed he had to know.

"Then do tell us what the artifact was for, Doctor," Hanif pointed. "If this woman isn't a goddess, then she is a harbinger of the Gods."

"Lower East gods of yours...you're a religious sect. A cult?"

"Oh but there's nothing anymore," Dorothy suddenly went, raising her head as if she were looking up to the sky. "There's no more Gods."

"Ooh…" the Doctor blinked and slowly turned to Dorothy with a new look in his eyes. "Dorothy, hold on, I think I know what you are...what you've become."

But Dorothy's face had become the place for a stream.

"Oh now you've made her cry! Good going!" Renata exclaimed to the three men. "Dorothy, you should calm down…"

Dorothy shook her head away but seized Renata's wrist and pulled her up into the sky. The Time Lady screamed out of shock, and after realizing how high she was going it turned into screams of fear.

"Dorothy, come back! You're a Quantum Harvester!" the Doctor was left to holler from the ground. His hearts were pounding wildly under his chest as he saw Renata disappear into the sky.

"Doctor, we have to get Ren back!" Donna shook him by the arm while Gabby took hold of his other arm.

"What if she hurts Renata!?" Gabby started panicking, thinking this was yet the way Renata was supposed to go.

"Hello," Cindy suddenly called, "Was like some rustic form of particle physics terminology? Before anyone says anything, _yes_ I do understand science."

"Beginning to like you a bit," the Doctor said but he was more focused on the missing Time Lady. "What was your name?"

"Cindy, and I'd really like to know what the hell is going on here?" Cindy looked more directly at Gabby for the answers. She'd been following Gabby everywhere and sure Gabby had already warned her that this was out of her world but would it kill Gabby to explain it better?

"Cleo warned us that you could mess things up for us," Hanif's words drew the traveler's attention and alerted them to the silver gun aimed on them.

"Thanks to you and your little friends, none of this went the way we anticipated. _You_ are responsible—" Erik had been saying before Cleo pulled him back.

"Wait!" the woman blocked the gun's way to the travelers. "I am strategizing here! This is tactical, what you keeping me around for. Much as I hate to admit it, Doctor, you seem to know what's going on here. If we're going to follow the Hollywood all-high we should join forces."

"I would like to point out that Renata told us _not_ to trust her," Donna quietly told the Doctor while keeping narrowed eyes on Cleo.

"You can walk behind me if you'd like," Cleo offered as another sign of good faith.

"Donna, we don't have much of a choice," the Doctor muttered. He needed everything and everyone at his disposal to get Renata back.

With his sonic, he managed to pick up a trace on Dorothy again and so that's what they did: follow it. With Cleo's help, they now had a car at their disposal to take them around the city as they went on a chase for Dorothy.

"So when are you going to explain what Dorothy is?" Donna asked, though she wasn't sure if the Doctor was listening to her. He'd been keenly focused on his sonic so far.

"She's a fusion of a human being and incredibly advanced alien technology. That's all."

"But is she dangerous?" asked Gabby who kept chewing on her lower lip.

"I don't think so," the Doctor said and that's the only thing keeping him somewhat calm. "I think she's an overwhelmed being who grabbed the person who was making her feel a bit better in all the chaos. Naturally, it had to be Renata. She inspires calmness and peace wherever she goes and I should know. Changed my life a while ago."

Both Gabby and Donna gave him the same strange, tilted-head look that he missed since he was staring at his sonic. He hadn't even realized what he said.

~ 0 ~

Renata only got her bearings back when Dorothy finally brought them back to the ground. And that was only after Dorothy went around the city repairing and building what she thought New York needed.

"You really should start listening," the Time Lady helped Dorothy — who was now weary from all her work — down the sidewalk leading up to her apartment building. "You can't go around doing that stuff when you've no idea what abilities you have nor what side effects you have."

"Something's coming…" Dorothy mumbled the same thing since they'd started to walk.

"You keep saying that but you don't tell me _who_ is coming."

"I don't know," Dorothy admitted. "But it wants me."

"And here you are drawing attention to yourself."

They heard a car skid to a stop beside them and when Renata saw the Doctor jumping out of the car, she so greatly relaxed. If he was here, then Dorothy couldn't be in trouble anymore.

"Renée!" the Doctor came directly to the Time Lady, once again pulling her in for a hug just as when she'd fallen unconscious in Dorothy's apartment. Twice already he'd scared her and it was all because of some threats he hadn't been able to foresee.

"Oh no…" Dorothy stepped backwards when she saw the others getting out of the car.

"No, no, it's okay now," the Doctor tried to bring her back but Dorothy shook her head.

"No, it's them!" she pointed at Erik, Hanif and Cleo. "They're calling whatever's coming here."

The Doctor immediately looked back and saw the lab-coated man holding something in his hand, something he hadn't seen yet. "What are you doing!? Stop—"

But a golden light struck down and took all of them away, up into a clear alien spaceship. The room was huge with dark brown walls and one set of controls set at the end of the room. There was a clear distraught in Gabby, Cindy and Donna but for the other humans - Cleo, Erik and Hanif - they were quick to begin arguing. Cleo seemed to be the one taking the sudden transportation the worst.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Donna asked Renata since the Doctor had already begun sonicking the entire room. Renata was tending to the even more fear-stricken Dorothy.

"Really? What would I do?" Renata shook her head. "Sounds to me like Cleo is finally getting a reality check. That is what you call it, right?"

Erik caught onto her poor description and turned at the woman. "We are very real! We are the Cult of the Black Pyramid!"

But to be honest, Renata stopped listening after that. She had no interest in learning what they were nor what exactly they worshiped.

"Would you all just stop?" the Doctor called. He had made his way up to the main bridge's control panel. "This is not the place of the 'Gods'. It's just a vessel of an old civilization that died eons ago. The ship is a remnant of the civilization, as if the relic that Dorothy merged with."

Dorothy's eyes widened. She looked at her palms as if the relic was still there, but it was far gone and yet so close.

"So, the ancient Egyptian gods those people-" Gabby jerked a thumb over her shoulder to Erik, "-are just aliens?"

"Yup! They're from a planet called Phaester Osiris."

"How about ancient Chinese gods?" Cindy asked, gesturing herself since she was of Chinese descent. "Got any of those?"

"It's not a game," scolded Renata.

The Doctor pressed a few buttons on the control panel, prompting Renata to warn him that messing with unknown controls of an unknown spaceship could lead to even worse consequences -

But then the spaceship rumbled and a rough voice spoke from the computer. "This is the will of the Seeker…"

"Doctor, what is that?" asked Donna.

"Like a Janitor Robot - an AI."

"And it wants me," Dorothy shook her head. She chose to merge with an alien tech and now the spaceship that owned that tech had come for it.

"And this," Hanif raised his hand with a peculiar ring on his finger. "I'm so sorry but I had to do it. It's said that this ring came from you - the Old Gods - and has been handed down in my family for more than a hundred generations."

"And that was a lie," Cindy rolled her eyes.

"See the mark of our faith?" the man went on, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a triangle inside a circle. Erik did the same behind him. "We are your true disciples."

"Did you not just hear that they're aliens and _not_ Gods?" Renata gestured to the clear alien control panel. Why were they still on this plan? They were desperate for their beliefs.

But she was ignored, like Cindy's earlier remark. Hanif went on to explain how his family had cared for an old Egyptian black pyramid centuries ago that disappeared into darkness after some false prophet showed up.

The Doctor scratched the top of his head as he corrected, "The chap in the pyramid was probably the last Osirian. Trust me, he's gone too."

"I've had enough of your blasphemy, Doctor!" Erik pulled out his gun and pressed it to the back of the Doctor's head.

Renata stiffened but the Doctor seemed way too calm for her liking, leading her to believe he had something up his sleeve.

"Erik, there might be some automatic defenses-" Before he would finish, a golden light erupted from the gun in Erik's hand and when it disappeared Erik was left screaming in pain as the gun merged with his flesh.

"Force will be met with force," went the computer.

" _This_ is our reward!?" Hanif cried in anger. "He's an archaeologist, one of the faithful! And my family have served you for centuries!"

"Seriously? He just tried to kill our friend," Gabby scowled at him.

"He wouldn't have used it!"

But now the Doctor frowned as well. "He had already pulled the trigger. That's why the seeker registered it as a projectile weapon."

"The key has been retrieved," the computer suddenly declared, at the same time Dorothy's glow became stronger. "All sentient Osirian devices are reclaimed. Any non-sentient devices will be rendered useless."

"Hey!" Hanif witnessed the glow from his ring die in two seconds.

"My purpose here has been fulfilled. Individuals potentially of value to be historical record will be retained for authentication. Individuals irrelevant to mission parameters will be returned to earth."

Flashes of portals blinded them all before one of theirs were dropped back to Earth. It was only the Doctor and Cindy who were dropped back onto the street. The Doctor quickly attempted to use the sonic to get them back into the ship, but the ship prevented it somehow.

"They've got all of 'em!" Cindy cried as she watched the triangular shaped - the Black pyramid - fly off in the sky. "Now what?"

The Doctor didn't even answer her. He'd broke into a full-fledged run down the sidewalk. He lost Renata twice to that thing, he wasn't going to let it happen again. There would be no more times!

"HEY! Wait up!" Cindy hollered as she ran her fastest to catch up with him. "You're going to have to start explaining things here! I haven't forgotten that you said Dorothy was a 'Quantum Harvester'. You can start with that!"

But the Doctor only explained once he was back in the TARDIS, because that's where he could get work done to get back onto that ship. "The Osirians used them to construct their civilization. They calculate and harvest the best possible outcomes of parallel universes' histories and co-opt them for our own. They are keys to the underlying structure of reality. With them, the Osirian architects reshaped whole galaxies to their whims. And they should all be extinct by now."

Cindy watched him work around that console, something she hadn't yet commented about. In fact, Cindy was the only person the Doctor had met who wasn't shocked about the TARDIS' misleading dimensions.

"Then you clearly misjudged the entire situation!"

"Yeah, won't happen again! Hold on now!" the Doctor pulled the lever of the console, jolting the TARDIS to life. Cindy yelped as she fell flat on her back. "We're heading for the 'Center of Things' - whatever that is!" He'd locked onto the Black Pyramid's location and merely following it. What he would find on the other side, he wasn't sure except for the fact Renata would be there.

~ 0 ~

Renata was getting really tired of being separated from the Doctor when there was an impending alien threat looming over them. The Black Pyramid ship had taken flight as soon as the Doctor and Cindy were teleported out and no matter how much Renata tried figuring the control panels out...she couldn't figure out where they were going. In the meanwhile, though, Dorothy and her merged Osirian half took it upon themselves to heal Erik with the hope that the man would re-evaluate his life choices. Donna loudly disagreed with that hope.

_'Commencing disembarkation ritual,_ ' the AI declared. At the corner of the room started creating a blue humanoid figure.

"I-is that an Osirian?" Cleo guessed, her eyes widening as the hologram finished forming.

"No, it's the AI - the Seeker," Renata sighed.

_'I have scoured the universe to find and collect the last remnants of our civilization - and now that the task is completed. The debt is repaid.'_

The ship embarked onto a new ship, this one making it seem like they were outside with the dark scenery around them. At the end of its short platform was a huge, golden pyramid.

The AI took form of a silver mummified figure with its arms crossed over his chest in the shape of an 'x'. It actually walked over to Dorothy, dismissing or ignoring the others' wide-eyed stares. " _Sister, do you remember our home, the Shining Horizon? Here, sleep has long had the countenance of death but now the time of Atonement is over for us all."_

" _All_?" Renata caught on fast to the word choice.

"Hear that?" Erik had turned to Hanif with a new flourished grin on his face. "Maybe we were right after all!"

Renata shushed them with a pointed finger, almost looking like a mother scolding her children for being so imprudent. "No, no you were not! They are still aliens!"

"Why do you speak in riddles?" Dorothy asked the AI. "You always speak in riddles. Can't you make sense for once?'

_"Sister, suddenly you speak with acrimony and yet your compassionate nature is evident_ ," the AI noted. " _Horus would be proud. It is as if you chose your new human vessel very deliberately - perhaps as a reaction towards your previous owner?_ "

"No one owns me!" frowned Dorothy.

_"You're incorrect,_ " the AI sounded as if it was snapping. _"Sutekh the Destroyer owned you! With you and the others like you, he extinguished life on millions of worlds."_

"Well, at least now why she came to Earth," Donna remarked sourly.

_"He burned a trail of death and destruction through the cosmos until his brother Horus, leader of the Osirians, cornered him on Earth and imprisoned him within the Forbidden Pyramid. You are his instrument - you are the hand of Sutekh."_

"Now wait a second!" Renata yanked Dorothy behind her as if she could protect the woman from a 6 foot soldier. "You've no right calling anyone an 'instrument'. So do it again and I'll have my go at you right here and now! And I don't care if I'm dealing with Horus or Sutekh or Anubis - I want you to return me and the others back to Earth this instant!"

"But what he says is true…" Dorothy whispered behind her. "And they're not all dead. I can feel it. It's here."

"What is?" Gabby dreaded to ask.

_"Master...architect. Your millenia long fatigue is over!"_ the AI raised his arms in a worship. _"I have served you faithfully. Awake now. Our task is accomplished."_

"Renata, what is he waking?" Donna wore the same dread Gabby had.

"Well…" Renata hated that she was actually beginning to figure it out as the situation went along - it made her feel a lot like the Doctor right now. "Remember how I said I'd rather face one of the Gods?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I might get that wish. Because if these two-" Renata pointed at the AI and Dorothy, "-were the lackeys, and they just re-united...that means they have the keys to bring out the...what do you guys call it? 'The big guns'?"

The ground under them rumbled again as if an earthquake was striking. A black hole started forming out of thin air. With seconds, it formed a tall - a _very_ tall - figure but it wasn't human. It was all black, like the true color of a black hole, but its hands were claw-like and its face...was the head of an animal.

" _Anubis_ …" Renata sucked in a deep breath of true fear. She took a step back for caution but she knew that if her wanted to, he could wipe them out with a snap of a finger.

"Who dares wake Anubis, the son of Sutekh!?"

"Ren…." Donna's voice trembled with utter fear.

The Time Lady was at a loss for their next course of action. She had no idea what she was supposed to do - this is where the Doctor _shined_! _Oh be honest, he always shines_ , the little voice in her head reminded her. "I-I don't know…the Doctor would know, I...I don't..."

_"I awoke you,_ " the AI spoke up. He explained how they came to be on the ship and that the world was at Anubis' hands.

"But these primitives?" Anubis gestured with his staff to the group crowded together.

"Excuse you," Renata said, momentarily getting over her fear to snap on behalf of the humans. "My friend over here-" she nodded to Dorothy, "-had a play in your awakening and you repay her by _insulting_ her? Spoken like a true Noble, or God in your case."

"My key?" Anubis seemed to take a double-look at Dorothy. "I didn't recognize you in this form. You're now...part human?"

Suddenly, they heard the familiar wheeze of the TARDIS and a few seconds later the Doctor and Cindy emerged from the blue box.

"Renée!" the Doctor rushed up to the Time Lady, encasing her in a tight hug.

This time, Renata hugged him back with the same intensity. "Oh thank God you found your way to us! I have no idea what I'm doing here!"

The fact she even admitted that was a clear indication of how scared she actually was. For that, the Doctor may have squeezed her a bit tighter. Today had just been far too crazy, even for them, and if he had anything to say about it would be the last trip that separated them multiple time. "I'm here," he whispered beside her ear, unknowingly reminding Renata of the many times they'd done this back home too.

Each time she was upset, scared, or simply needed him, he'd be right there giving her such comforting hugs and his comforting whispers. Even today, his whispering voice next to her ears gave her the same chills. Funny how time couldn't make those feelings go away, or at least decrease.

Donna awkwardly cleared her throat to get the pair's attention. "Sorry to interrupt but I believe there is an alien trying to kill us all?" She smirked when they pulled apart with the same red blushes on their faces.

She gestured towards the alien and when the Doctor looked over he blinked in shock. "Well, sure missed a lot, then."

"More primitives?" roared Anubis.

"There's that word again," Renata frowned at him.

_"They are uninvited_ ," the AI said fast. " _I only brought those with interesting historical records since it was one of your interests in the past."_

"Historical records?" Gabby repeated quietly. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you, Donna and Renata each hold valuable historical importance to the time lines," the Doctor shrugged, not too worried about it as the three women seemingly were.

"What?" Renata frowned. "But _me_? I've done nothing important."

"I didn't say it was in _your_ past," the Doctor smiled at her. "Who knows what your future has in store for you." He had no doubt that her future was bright considering all the amazing things she was capable of doing. Who knew where her big hearts would lead her to?

Renata looked away, for the first time feeling guilty about her pending fate. She thought, honestly, she was doing him a favor by sparing him the details of what was (apparently) coming. He didn't need to be burdened by her problems.

" _Master_!" the AI said, once again opening his arms only this time he had white spheres come into the air. " _You must let the nano-meds begin their work. They must rejuvenate you before you start your work_."

"Wait, Anubis needs medical attention now?" Cindy shot a look at the travelers as if they had some explaining to do. "Seriously?"

"They're aliens, not Gods," Renata sighed. She was getting tired of reminding everyone that details. "If they're aliens then medical attention makes sense."

Cindy looked between her and the God that was an alien. She shook her head a minute later. "...sure."

Renata glared. She didn't need that right now.

"You, Doctor," called Anubis who had trapped by the nano-meds as they commenced their work, "You are not a lesser species — as is the woman —" he languidly pointed one claw finger at the Doctor then Renata. "You're both long lived. I sense great age in both of you. What are you?"

"Time Lords," the Doctor answered only to be scoffed at.

"Last time I heard the Time Lords were engaged in some petty squabble with a Daleks."

Renata's face instantly morphed into a furious incredulity. " _Squabble_ with the Daleks — are you _serious_!?" she moved for Anubis, as if ready to charge at him, but the Doctor grabbed onto her arm to keep her at his side. "He just said 'squabble' as if it were—"

"-I know," he nodded at her. He'd love to correct Anubis as well but he didn't want to make things worse. "But it's not really the time to correct him." Renata rolled her eyes but figured he was right.

"It is time for me to ascend," Anubis declared. "To travel beyond this universe!"

"No chance," went the Doctor. "Your 'circle of transcendence' isn't stable anymore. Don't even try it."

"Ha, who are you to tell me I can't do what I was meant to?"

The Doctor glowered at the creature. "Anubis, if you try to pass through that gateway, it will collapse. It will kill you and create a catastrophic effect that will Ripple outward at translight seeds, destroying the rest of the universe." He'd figured out that Anubis wanted to cross over through a 'gateway' promising some sort of new world for him and his people, but it was far too weak to actually work as a proper gateway.

Anubis rose into the air again, gaining a green glow in his eyes as he spoke. "You do not comprehend how long and lonely these final duties would be. I miss my people, my wife, my children."

"But there are ways to counter the loneliness," the Doctor said. "I speak from experience so trust me."

"You know me by what insight, Time Lord? Your race is gone too. You're a fugitive from destiny, as is your partner."

The Doctor unconsciously moved his body slightly in front of Renata's. He could handle whatever was said at him but there was no need to bring in Renata.

"Horus asked two final duties of me. Mindful of the destruction my father brought, the first was to stay behind as guardian of the circle, to keep it turning."

"The second was to seek and collect any remaining of Osirian technology from this universe, so as to help with people's departure from this plane," Dorothy suddenly said, the words seemingly tumbling out of her mouth before she could even process.

It seemed to surprise Anubis. "You remember?"

"Sure," she said after careful thought. "Just like I remember New Jersey, where I'm really from."

"So you see why it is time for me to transcend this universe, to follow the other Osirans through. Do not tell me that I cannot."

"Fact is, there is a lot of stuff in here that are mine and yet not mine," Dorothy brought her hands to her head. She shared a vast knowledge know with an alien and her mind was pretty jumbled up right now.

"What if we find a compromise?" the Doctor offered. "I can help you heal and safely get rid of the circle before it destroys us."

"It is my right to ascend!"

"And so, therefore, your right to destroy an entire universe? Because that's what you'll be doing. And you know what? I met Sutekh," the Doctor confessed, instantly gaining Anubis' and the other's attention. "I know what he stood for and I don't think it's quite you. You're not the same as him, no matter what horrid that to you before trapping you here. You need to forget your father and Horus because one destroyed and one lied but _both_ of them _fought_. Don't be like either of them. You have power over all life and death. Live Anubis, and let the universe live too."

Anubis retracted a step from them, for the first time looking like words had affected him.

"We don't really have much to lose, do we?" Dorothy offered one small smile at Anubis. "Maybe, sometime in the future, we could fix the Circle and you can cross through safely. Without putting anyone in danger."

"But it would take eons before it'd be fixed!"

"So you would rather die because you're impatient?" Renata found her voice to demand. It was a fairly good question that stumped him for a moment. "Because that's the risk you're taking if you cross through the gateway. Wouldn't you rather wait and see it actually get fixed?"

"Look, Anubis," the Doctor called again, hoping to really drive things home with this last bit especially when he already seemed to be considering, "I'm not telling you that you'll never be able to cross through. I'm only saying to let us find a way of collapsing the circle safely so when the day comes...you can cross safely."

There was a moment of tensed silence as Anubis thought. If he didn't agree, then it would all be over. And truthfully, the Doctor didn't know what else to do.

"...Very well. I agree to delay my voyage to the circle," Anubis' words caused simultaneous relived sighs. "It's always best not to get caught between Horus and my father. I did as I had the misfortune of birthright. What is clear is that I cannot leave, not until the circle is repaired."

"Or until someone can take your place as guardian," Dorothy stepped forward, the look on her face indicating she would volunteer for the job.

"Are you sure about that, Dorothy?" Renata turned to her with concern, as if thinking that the other half of her, the alien half of her, was making Dorothy say that.

Dorothy nodded. "Yeah. I can learn. At the very least I can help. Anubis can train me. I'm only just beginning to explore my powers."

"We'll come back and check up on you," the Doctor offered, putting one hand over Renata's shoulder to let her know they wouldn't be abandoning Dorothy.

"I take that agreement," Anubis announced. " Doctor, I give you five thousand time-cycles, and no longer. I will look in on you and I will expect progress reports."

"I don't quite like the idea of leaving you here," Renata admitted to Dorothy while the Doctor started ushering everyone else into the TARDIS before Anubis changed his mind.

Dorothy still smiled her sweet smile. " I will be just fine. I'm an Osiran-Human hybrid now - I can take care of myself. Thank you for what you've done for me and I'm so sorry that I put you through so many scares."

Renata nodded. If it was Dorothy's choice, then there was nothing more she would say. At least now, she could return home safe and sound.

Until the Doctor would drop Cleo, Erik and Hanif back on Earth along with Cindy. Despite asking Gabby if she wanted to stay home for a few days, to get over what happened, the young girl shook her head and said she would much rather be in the TARDIS. So, she bid goodbye to Cindy and left with the trio in the TARDIS.

And while Renata usually whipped up her famous dinners, this night she seemed to missed it. Gabby and Donna ate dinner alone and it was just regular human cereal.

"Where are they?" Gabby asked the ginger at the table. She moved her spoon in endless circles against her bowl, not really in the mood to eat.

"Don't know," Donna shrugged. "Doctor said he wanted to run some tests on Ren but…" she smiled for a moment, "...Renata refused so it turned into one of their arguments. Kind of funny."

"Wait," Gabby straightened up in her chair, "He was going to run some tests on her? Like...medically-wise?" Donna nodded. "I have to go!" Gabby jumped from her chair and ran out of the kitchen before Donna could even say her name.

It was the perfect time to confirm whether or not Renata was safe in terms of health. If she was lucky, Gabby thought maybe she could be there when the results were in. Of course, she would have to convince Renata to let her stay in the room or at the very least she would have to convince Renata to tell her what the results were. Gabby came to a skidded stop before the open door of the medbay. She was already hearing some of the conversation and she didn't really have the courage to come in.

"So, are we finally done here?" Renata sat on the edge of the medbay bed, looking completely irritated. "And then you can realize this was a waste of time — I didn't even get to make dinner for everyone!"

The Doctor was reading off the results from the computer screen in front of him. He looked far too focused for there to be nothing wrong. Renata came to that conclusion only a minute after speaking up.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor straightened up and looked at her. "I'm so sorry. I keep putting you in danger, don't I?"

"Where'd you get that from?"

"I…" the Doctor drew in a breath then turned to face her completely. "You're...okay, but...you haven't expelled the energy you in-took from when we visited Zhe's art gallery. The Block-Transfer Matrix energy from the apprentices?"

"How could I forget?" Renata sourly said as she remembered the homicidal apprentices Zhe had conjured up. "But that was weeks ago!" Her body, while not being completely invincible, was still more attuned to a higher standard when it came to health. She'd always been very healthy in her previous incarnations. Why would this one be the exception?

"No," the Doctor shook his head. "And then you took in new energy from the Osiran lot. Now that's combined inside of you and…" a new type of fear etched across his face as he willed himself to say the truth, "...you've been contaminated."

Renata blinked slowly, the movements of her body slowing down to awkward shifts. From the hallway, Gabby felt her heart pounding under her chest.

_Is this what that Ood meant?_ She started coming up with terrible ways this 'contamination' could kill Renata. Out of fear, she rushed away from the room.

"Contaminated?" Renata finally spoke up after a minute of processing. "I've been...contaminated? With what?" there was a confused smile on her face but the Doctor wondered — he had to — if it was in place of a growing fear.

"These two different energies have merged to form something new, something a Time Lady shouldn't have — that no Time Lord should have — because remember, we carry a bit of the Time Vortex in order to regenerate. Now couple this new energy with the Time Vortex and we have a triple-way contamination."

"So...am I just going to die, then?" Renata pushed herself off the medbed and walked over to the computer screen to see for herself.

"No," the Doctor said automatically. "You're not dying but...it's something we have to keep a constant eye on. We have to be careful of what you expose yourself to from here on out and see how your body continues to react to these energy forces."

Renata turned the computer screen off and turned to the Doctor. The fear on her face had disappeared, or perhaps stored away for the moment. "Okay, so we'll just do that but is there really any cause for concern? For all we know, my body is just a little slower in expelling the energy."

"No, it hasn't expelled _anything_ ," the Doctor urgently reminded her. "We cannot brush this off, Renée." If that was her plan then he was going to be sorry for being himself and making it a priority! He wasn't going to lose her.

Renata rolled her eyes but it seemed more like an action she forced in an attempt to be casual. She put a hand on his arm and wore her best smile. "I'm not brushing it off, Doctor, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. You've been through worse and I don't see you 'raising 'alarm' about yourself."

"Because it's _you_ I'm talking about," the Doctor started to frown. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I'd rather it be _me_ than you." He didn't even realize he said the words until they'd left his mouth. But Renata had flinched when he said those words. It actually made her gasp. It was astounding that he'd said it like it was an automatic instinct, but even as he went back to think about it...he wouldn't take them back. He was a terrible man, who cares if he got contaminated? Better him than someone as pure and honest as Renata.

_Don't you dare!_ Renata felt her hearts skip several jolts while her mind went crazy wondering if he truly meant that. Once upon a time, he'd said those exact words to her but during the period where they both knew they loved each other. Right now, they were nowhere near that. They were friends, _just_ friends.


	18. The Medicine Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Renata have brought their companions to the very early days of Earth. While the Doctor tries to get back in Renata's good graces -- after pulling a very small bit with her -- he suffers and injury that renders him unconscious, leaving Renata fully in charge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

When Renata woke up, she was almost immediately swept away from her room by Donna. It was breakfast time but Renata kept pointing out that she hadn't yet made breakfast for anyone. Donna didn't seem to mind as she brought the Time Lady down the hallway until they reached the kitchen...where breakfast had already been served.

"What...is going on?" Renata's eyes were wide as she took in the table set up with different breakfast plates. She saw a few pancakes stacked in the middle of the table, a neat file of toast on another plate, fresh strawberries, apples and berries in a bowl. There were even a few crepes in the corner that, while oddly shaped, did look pretty good. The Doctor and Gabby stood beside the table seeming far too innocent for Renata's liking. "What did you do?"

"Breakfast!" the two chorused together with the same grin on their faces.

"What?" Renata glanced at Donna for some additional information, but the ginger shrugged.

"Don't look at me. They already had this done when I came in."

Renata shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't understand..."

The Doctor smiled at her and walked up to her. "What's to understand? Gabby and I thought you always make breakfast for us-"

"And delicious dinners!" Gabby added with a raised finger in the air.

"-and we just thought it was time we made something for _you_ ," the Doctor took Renata's hand and led her to the table. He watched her study the plates with such a shock on her face. It was almost as if nobody had ever done something like that for her. "Renée?"

"Hmm?" she raised her head, meeting his gaze to show sparkling eyes. "Oh, um...thank you." She brought her other hand to cover his hand holding hers. "Really, thank you."

The Doctor wouldn't admit to himself the strange rush he felt when Renata touched his hand, much less when she smiled at him. He would also not admit to the feeling he got when Renata pulled her hands away from him, even when she'd only done it to thank Gabby next. He was being too weird, even for himself.

"You two are wonderful," Renata gave Gabby a hug. "I didn't think the Doctor was capable of cooking-"

"Hey!" went the man in question, frowning while the others giggled.

"But I should've known you, Gabriella, would have inherited your family's cooking abilities. Well done."

"Well, Mom taught me a few things here and there but it's just breakfast," Gabby shrugged. "Mom knows how to do the best stuff though."

"Still, I'm really thankful for this sweet gesture," Renata looked between the two responsible for the meal, though it lasted very short because of the blush that'd run through her face. _It's just breakfast don't twist things,_ she berated herself.

"Sit," Gabby ushered Renata to take the open seat in front of her.

"Don't mind if I do," Donna gladly said and grabbed a seat for herself.

As Renata looked over the plates, she admitted that most of it - if not all of it - smelled pretty good. Her eyes perked up even more at the sight of her favorite ingredients for the best breakfast ever. She grabbed a piece of toast then spread butter over it to finally top it off with sugar.

"I guess now I know where you got that from, huh?" the Doctor quietly asked her.

Renata froze just as she was about to take a bite out of the toast. Zuriah had loved this precise breakfast and so now it was only logical for the Doctor to believe that 'Zuriah' taught Renata about it.

"Y-yeah," Renata ultimately nodded.

"My Mom eats toast like that," Gabby pointed happily when she noticed Renata's plate. "I love it too." Renata nodded, grateful that Gabby was unknowingly moving the subject along.

"Alright, so where are we going today?" Donna then asked in-between bites of her pancakes.

"I dunno, where do you want to go?" the Doctor returned the question and watched the ginger consider her many, _many_ options. She ultimately chose the past.

"But none of that New York or ancient Greece thing! I want something different!"

The Doctor thought about the possible places he could bring them. He crossed gazes with Renata who, like Donna and Gabby, was patiently waiting for him to make a decision. "How's about we turn it into a real life lesson?"

Gabby perked up knowing he meant her. If this trip would be a chance for her to learn something, it gave ample chance for Renata to tell the Doctor about her fate's prediction. Gabby really hoped Renata would reconsider the idea of keeping it all a secret because, frankly, it wasn't working for Gabby. In fact, it was driving her crazy.

And the worst part was that the Doctor and Donna were beginning to suspect there was something going on with Gabby. Twice she had come very close to spilling the secret. She understood Renata wanted to keep it away in case it meant nothing but...there was also the chance that this meant _something_ and that something would lead to Renata's death. The Doctor already discovered that Renata had been contaminated with alien energy. That was something alright, and still Renata hadn't told the Doctor what the Ood predicted for her. Maybe, just maybe, if Renata spent some time with the Doctor, she would be more inclined to tell him what was going on.

Gabby could only hope.

~0~

Things had started off nicely. A calm - yet very cold and snowy - Earth landscape was the exterior of the group's latest adventure. It wasn't as cold as the Ood planet, but Gabby and Donna did have to bundle up a bit more than usual. When Gabby wondered why neither Renata nor the Doctor seemed that bothered by the cold - since the former had only a thin pink coat while the latter had his usual brown trench coat - Renata explained they were less susceptible to cold and heat.

One new thing Gabby learned.

They spent the entire day wandering through the forest, gazing upon odd ancient creatures roaming around.

"It's so weird seeing a woolly mammoth in person," Gabby chuckled, though it was strained on account of her having to peer over a small rocky hill. "The only ones I know of are from that movie the Ice Age."

Donna scoffed beside her. "That kiddie movie?"

"...I'm 19 Donna." Gabby's cold cheeks flamed with embarrassment but Donna didn't make of the remarks her family usually would. She still liked watching kids' movies and there honestly shouldn't be anything wrong with it! They were quite funny!

"They're pretty huge though," Donna remarked. "Although I thought they would be bigger than your usual elephant."

"That's a misconception," called Renata from below. She and the Doctor were standing right in front of the cliff Gabby and Donna were on. She had her arm wrapped around the Doctor's and it'd been like that ever since they stepped out of the TARDIS. Each time she thought about how long they'd just been casually linking their arms but she felt quite comfortable, very...at home.

"What?" called Donna.

"I, uh, said that was a misconception. Woolly Mammoths are no bigger than your typical African Elephants," Renata clarified and was immediately subjected to bemused looks from the trio. "What? I read. Plus, ancient creatures on Earth are fascinating."

"Oh, so now you think this planet's fascinating?" the Doctor couldn't help the smirk that played on his lips.

"Don't get started," Renata held her free hand at him, motioning that he better stop right there. "I think _some_ things are fascinating. I pick and choose. Woolly Mammoths are one."

Gabby snorted from her spot, choosing to ignore Renata's scolding huff as she gazed back to the snowy field. "They're really beautiful."

"Yeah," Donna agreed with a content sigh. Sometimes it was nice to stop all the running about in space and the future. It gave them a chance to admire the beautiful sceneries they had the privilege to see. The Doctor and Renata brought her and Gabby to a real _past_ trip - the Neanderthal era or the ' _Pleistocene Epoch_ ' as the Doctor said (but she couldn't pronounce it).

"C'mon down," Renata instructed to the two after a few more minutes of watching the mammoth herd. "And be careful please."

The women climbed back down and offered the Time Lords to take their chance but Renata flatly refused.

"With my luck, I'd fall," she shook her head and told them they should keep walking. "Evening is going to come by soon so whatever we're going to see, we better do it now so we can start heading back for the TARDIS."

So, they walked again.

"I keep thinking a dinosaur's going to pop in on us," Donna shivered after a particular cold breeze hit them.

"Don't be silly Donna. Dinosaurs are extinct by this point in time," the Doctor said, stopping by a fallen, thick branch. "Oh look at that!" Gabby and Donna hurried around him and Renata but the latter let out a shriek that made a spiky little creature run to the other side of the branch.

"Don't be alarmed, Renée," the Doctor straightened up and patted her hand curled around his arm. "It's an ancestor of hedgehogs. A tenrec!"

Gabby and Donna were quick to snicker behind the Time Lady. Hearing them, Renata snapped her head at them. "Shut it!"

"It's harmless," the Doctor assured her.

"Yeah? Then you go pick it up," Renata said without thinking, because if she _had_ been thinking about it she wouldn't have said such a foolish thing. The Doctor would take it as a challenge.

"I will," he, predictably, said.

"No, wait, Doctor!" Renata said as he was already pulling his arm out of her hold. "Doctor, I didn't mean it - get back here!"

The Doctor smirked at her and hopped over the branch. He followed the branch to the edge and squatted down in front of the tenrec which, in all honesty, couldn't have been bigger than his palm.

"Doctor, maybe Ren's right," Gabby crinkled her nose at the spiky creature. "You might get poked. We should leave it alone."

"Let him touch it, see what happens," Donna smirked similarly to the Doctor.

Renata almost smacked her forehead - those two were definitely a good match when it came to being reckless. At least _her_ companion seemed to have caught onto sensibility. Gabby was right at her side while Donna drifted towards the Doctor.

"There we are, hi there!" the Doctor had the tenrec on his palm. He straightened up and moved around the branch to show the women the harmless creature. "You wouldn't hurt anyone, would you?"

"He's kind of cute," Donna admitted when the Doctor had come beside her. "Though you can't make me hold it!"

"Gabby, Renata, come see," the Doctor carefully let the tenrec crawl to his other palm.

"I am _not_ getting close to it," Renata crossed her arms, almost sounding like she was huffing.

"No reason to be afraid of it-"

"I am _not_ afraid of it!"

"Then come look at it."

"I don't want to."

The Doctor couldn't help the small smirk tugging at his lips. "Renata, it's not bigger than my palm. You're a grown woman, I promise you that it will not hurt you. Don't be afraid."

Renata's eyes blazed with anger at his disbelief. "I am not afraid!"

Donna shared a knowing smile with Gabby. She was _too_ afraid.

"I'm not standing for this!" Renata exclaimed and, with an actual huff now, she started walking in the direction they'd come in.

"Oh, Renata!" the Doctor chuckled and carefully set the tenrec back on the branch. "Take care dear," he said to it then rushed off behind Renata. "Renée, come back."

"I'm going back to the TARDIS!"

But as much as she would've liked to stomp quickly, the snow-covered ground had another thing to say. It eventually led to the Doctor being able to grab her arm and stop her.

"Very mature for a 700 year old Time Lady," his mouth twitched as if he was restraining himself...and he was. He wanted to smirk at her for her behavior but doing that would just make her want to keep walking away. "How's about we get some snacks?"

Renata pulled her arm from his grip and huffed. "There's no snacks around here you idiot."

"Yeah there are, look!" the Doctor pointed up above them. Renata raised her head to see dangling apples from the trees. "I bet I can get some down for us."

"Please don't," Renata returned her gaze to him, now clear of anger but with concern quickly filling her features.

"I can do it, no problem!"

"Do what?" Donna asked once she and Gabby caught up with them.

"The Doctor wants to get some apples down for us," Renata wearily eyed the man heading for the closest tree.

"Oh! I could do with an apple!" Gabby's eyes gleamed at the idea of a fresh apple after so much walking.

"Doctor, these are some very tall trees," Renata warned but the Doctor was already climbing his way up a tree.

"I _have_ climbed trees, you know," he calmly called from above. She rolled her eyes. "Get ready to catch some apples." He reached for a branch on his left side and started shaking it as much as he could.

"They're not falling!" Donna frowned, unimpressed with his hunting skills. "We'd starve if food was up to you."

The Doctor paused to glower down at her. "Thanks." He sucked in a deep breath and attempted to entirely move to the branch.

"Doctor, please be careful," he heard Renata's pleas. She honestly worried too much over them, but that was just her.

He successfully got on the branch but he could feel it wobbling with his weight. He needed to be quick about it so he started pushing the apples off its roots so they could fall. He smiled when he started hearing Gabby's gleeful cries after catching an apple.

"Doctor, get down now!" came Renata's cry.

"Yeah, alright!" He managed to stand up and, for a minute, paused to admire the snowy land. "You know, the sight _is_ pretty beautiful from up here."

"DOCTOR!"

He winced. He better get down or Renata might self-combust one of these days. It was fairly amusing how quickly her rosy face would redden whenever he would irritate her, but sometimes he wondered if she would actually burst from all their episodes.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he stepped towards the stump he'd have to climb down on but the branch wobbled and sent his right foot to the side. "Ah!" he cried and scrambled to grab onto another. His hands flailed for the stump but in his attempts to grab it, his forehead hit the bark instead and down he went.

"Doctor!" Renata cried when she saw the Doctor's body falling down. Their companions screamed when he crashed onto the ground, splashing snow bits all over them. "No, no, no, no!" Renata hurried to his side, letting her knees fall to the ground next to his head. Straightaway she could see an ugly gash across his forehead. Renata's hands trembled as they checked him for any other injuries.

"Is he going to be alright?" Donna worriedly watched Renata pull her hand from under the Doctor's head. She, and Gabby, gasped when they saw blood dripping from Renata's fingers.

"Oh my God!" Gabby's hands flung to her mouth. "What do we do!? What do we do!?"

"Shush," Renata hissed. She was about to push some of her hair out of her face when she remembered the blood on her fingers. With a sigh, she flapped her hand to get rid of it. "He's out could and the TARDIS is too far away to carry him to.

"Okay, so what do we?" asked Donna. Her eyes were scanning their immediate area with fear. "We we can't exactly stay here can we? It's the olden ages - there could be dinosaurs!"

Renata rolled her eyes. "For the last time, we are not in the dinosaur age, Donn! There are no dinosaurs!"

"Renata, what do we do?" Gabby bent down beside the Time Lady. She could Renata was afraid as well, perhaps not on the same level as Donna, but she was still afraid. They needed to _help_ her, not add more to her problems.

"We need some extra muscle," Renata decided after a few minutes of pondering. "Go find anyone - literally anyone - and get them here. If we're lucky we might be near some type of civilization we can camp out at before the cold really strikes."

"Okay," Gabby straightened on her feet and moved towards Donna.

"What are you going to do?" Donna inquired from the Time Lady.

"What I need to do: stay with him," Renata looked down at the Doctor and smiled softly. "I can't leave him alone." Not again.

~0~

It was nearing sunset when Gabby and Donna returned with help. It was one lone man but he was strong enough and, apparently, a doctor as well.

"Is that a wolf?" Renata panicked the moment she saw the gray creature roaming around them.

"He's good, Ren," Donna made a nod at the man with them. "Comes with him."

"I know of none like you," the man remarked as he studied the group one by one. "But I have seen many strange things over the past few moon tides."

"I'll file that under 'explain later'. Right now, would you please help us?" Renata rose from the ground. "He really is-" she gestured to the Doctor, "-a smart man but he just does...incredibly stupid stuff." And said stupid stuff could be stemmed back to her because he'd gone off climbing trees to get apples down for her in an attempt to get back on her good side.

The man bore no expression that would indicate whether or not he would definitely help. He bent down beside the Doctor, checking on the two injuries he sustained but he never made a comment. It made Renata nervous. What she was supposed to do if he refused in the end?

"I have fresh water and healing herbs," the man suddenly said. "We'll bathe your friend's wounds."

Donna loudly sighed in relief. "Oh thank God. For a second I thought you said ' _bathe him_ '! I did _not_ sign up for that!"

Renata shook her head, wanting to be upset for Donna's imprudence but she found it hard not to laugh instead.

"Your friends said he is a medicine man," the man looked directly at Renata. "You did not leave him. I assume you are you his wife?"

Renata's eyes widened, comically if Gabby had to describe it. "I am not _not_."

"You sure act like a married couple," Donna mumbled behind her.

"Stop talking," Renata hissed and addressed the man instead. "I am not his wife, but I am a very close friend. You will help us, then?"

The man nodded. "Of course. Your friend needs rest. My home is far but I know a place we can shelter."

"Please lead the way," Renata urgently said.

The man easily picked up the Doctor's body and led the way through the woods. At least it seemed like he knew the area because in two minutes he had led them out of the maze of trees and onto a clear plain.

"I too am a healer, a Shaman," the man began to share with them. Perhaps it was a way to warm up to the three women who continued looking nervous. "Though some would say I am not a wise man."

"Then you would definitely get along with the Doctor," Renata was the first to respond.

"What's your name?" Gabby peered in front of Renata to see the man.

"I'm Munmeth, of the Wolf Tree Clan."

"Nice to meet you," Gabby grinned and even waved. "I'm Gabby. That's Donna and this is Renata."

"What were you doing so far into the woods?" Munmeth asked.

"Gabby thought it would be a fun idea to explore the woods," Donna tugged her coat closet to her. "It was not."

"What - we did see some cool stuff!" Gabby exclaimed. "Remember that bee hive? Those could not be just bees!"

"They weren't," Renata confirmed. "Ancestors of bees."

"Bees?" mused Munmeth. "Ah, like the makers of honey? That's why you are scented so. Longclaw - my wolfhound - she likes your smell."

Renata's eyes widened when she noticed the wolf right behind them. "Oh... that's nice." She wasn't really one for animals in this incarnation.

"She's kinda cute," Gabby admitted but Renata immediately scolded her.

"Don't touch her!"

Munmeth brought them into a deep cave and carefully settled the Doctor on the ground. He started using some herbs for the cuts on his forehead and under his head. Renata was right behind him, watching every movement of his as if to make sure he wasn't further hurting the Doctor.

"He should be fine," Munmenth declared after what seemed like an eternity for Renata.

"Really?" Renata didn't waste a moment and quickly bent down beside the Doctor.

"He will probably sleep for the night but he will wake up," Munmeth assured her and the others. "I will bring something to eat for you all. Do not leave the cave."

"No problem," promised Donna as she scuttled into a deeper crook of the cave to get some warmth.

Before he left, Munmeth created a fire so they could keep warm. Donna and Gabby settled around it while Renata remained by the Doctor's side.

"So, what exactly is our plan now?" Donna asked Renata a few minutes after they were left alone.

The Time Lady did not answer as she was tending to the Doctor on the ground. Her fingers gingerly grazed the deep cut across his forehead but even that still left her fingertips with some blood. Munmeth had helped the injuries dry up but still seeing the cuts made Renata feel like there was still something wrong with the Doctor. She couldn't stand it.

"Sorry Doctor, she whispered when she had made her choice. She wasn't sure how the Doctor would react to it but why debate when it was the only sensible, reasonable thing to do?

She readied her right hand and let it hover over the Doctor's forehead. As soon as it started glowing orange, Gabby and Donna went wide eyed.

"What's happening!?" Gabby was concerned and, first and foremost, scared now Renata was getting hurt too.

"I'm just helping the healing process go quicker," Renata said quietly. She could feel her regeneration energy oozing from her fingertips and she was mighty relieved to see the cut on the Doctor's forehead closing up. She then slid her hand under his head and let her fingers search for the second cut. In another moment, she would've blushed like mad raking her fingers through his hair. But right now, she just wanted him to be okay. In a matter of seconds, he was completely healed.

"Is he going to wake up now?" Donna asked afterwards.

"No, it was still a pretty harsh fall but at least this way I know for sure he'll be okay," Renata smiled at the unconscious man. "He's had plenty worse without me and he's survived."

Donna watched the woman as she took off her pink coat and rolled it up into a pseudo-pillow to put under the Doctor's head. It was done in such a tender way that Donna just _had_ to ask, "How long have you truly known the Doctor?"

The question was startling until Renata remembered that there was no way Donna could know anything about her first incarnation. "What do you mean, Donna? I've known him for about a year."

"Nu-uh," Donna wasn't afraid to scoff and correct her. "The way you treat him - especially right now - tells me that you have known him far longer than just a year."

"Well if you want to be technical then I guess it'd be 2 years what with the whole year-that-never-happened," shrugged Renata but once again Donna scoffed.

"Do you take me for an idiot?"

Renata blinked at the sudden snap and glanced to see the ginger giving her a rather sharp look. "I didn't mean to…"

Donna dramatically sighed and wrapped her coat closet to her body. "C'mon Ren, just asking a question. I bet Gabby's thinking about it too."

At the mention of her name, Gabby awkwardly smiled at the two. She didn't want to get in-between. Plus, she already had a lot in mind concerning Renata and the Doctor.

"Donna, it's really not that big of a deal. I, uh, happened to know a friend that was really close to the Doctor back on Gallifrey," Renata did her best to sound and even appear casual.

"What friend?" Donna narrowed her eyes on the blonde. She didn't know a lot about the Doctor's life on Gallifrey but she knew enough to know that he couldn't have many friends on that planet since he traveled a lot.

"Just...a friend. We worked together at a charity foundation," Renata looked away so that her widened eyes wouldn't be seen. She was really building lie after lie and it was becoming easier too. That scared her.

But suddenly Donna's own eyes widened. "You knew Zuriah!?"

"What!?" Renata nearly fell back from shock. "How do you know about her!?"

"Doctor told me a couple of days ago."

He was becoming very loose lipped on that subject. It was as if once she opened up about 'knowing Zuriah', the Doctor felt more comfortable bringing _her_ out of the shadows.

"Who's that?" Gabby's question broke the silence in the cave. Her eyes were flickering between Renata and Donna.

Before Renata could come up with a practical explanation, Donna made it short and thorough.

"The Doctor's old flame."

"Donna!" went Renata soon after. She hid her face from them when she felt the damn heat return. _Old flame_? The words brought a wave of butterflies in her stomach whether she wanted them or not.

"What?"

Renata heavily sighed. She brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed circles over her skin before a headache formed. She couldn't believe she was really having this conversation with them. "She was...someone the Doctor really cared for and she's also someone I happened to know. Therefore, I didn't know the Doctor back then but I knew of him."

Donna tilted her head at the woman, almost looking like she was trying to decide whether or not to believe her. It concerned Renata, honestly, because why wouldn't Donna want to believe her? Had she done something to make Donna doubt her words?

"I guess that makes sense but it's just the way you act Ren," Donna's voice softened. Her eyes flickered from Renata to the Doctor and vice versa. "You are the complete opposite of the Doctor, yet sometimes you're so...soft with him."

Renata tried her best not to appear so nervous but her warm face was sure to give her up sooner or later. "I'm just a friend, Donna."

"Is that all you want to be?"

Renata practically froze. Gabby was sure that Renata's eyes would definitely pop from her head because of how wide they were. Renata turned her head away from the two companions, the unconscious Doctor, and took in a deep breath. "No, Donna," she surprisingly answered in one go and without sounding upset. "I am a friend, nothing more. Now I firmly believe it is time for us to rest."

"But we haven't had dinner yet," Donna said in confusion.

"I don't think you'll want to eat raw animal meat." Renata may not have expressed an angry tone but her hard face said it all. She made herself a spot near the Doctor's body and laid her head over her arms. If she was lucky, she would get a few hours of sleep and thus evade Donna's torturous questions.

"I don't think you should've asked Renata all those questions," Gabby spoke to Donna when Renata finally dozed off.

"Why not? Made her think, dinnit?" Donna replied with a proud smirk on her face.

"That was your point?"

"Not specifically but it was a bonus. Look," Donna shifted on her spot to better face Gabby, "I know it's not just me who sees these odd behaviors. You see it too but you don't want to say anything."

"I-I mean... it's not really my place," Gabby said. If it was then she would've told the Doctor herself about Renata's fate prediction.

"Sometimes we have to give a little push in order to get results, no matter how many ugly looks you get from the Time Lady," Donna nodded to Renata. "I've come to figure out Renata's type. She's proper, too proper to do anything. And the Doctor is the opposite. He'll do everything and sometimes that's scary for people like Renata."

"Okay...but what exactly are you trying to get another to do?"

"Whatever she needs to do but hasn't. I suspect Renata is hiding something but I don't know what."

Gabby wondered if Donna was talking about the prediction because, if not...what else did Renata have to hide? She glanced at Renata's sleeping form. Renata _was_ pretty old (technically) so perhaps there were plenty of things to hide.

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor woke up, the first thing he remembered were apples. He'd been climbing a tree to get _apples_ but now he was in a...cave? It looked like a cave. After a few minutes of him just blinking at the cave's ceiling, he started to remember what happened to him during his attempt to get apples.

' _Renata is definitely going to kill me this_ ,' he thought and as soon as he realized his thought his mind flashed to the Time Lady. "Ren!" He sat upright only to find Renata fast asleep a few inches from him. He spotted Donna and Gabby sleeping on the other side of fire that was no longer burning, but his eyes flickered back to Renata. She was so close to him - he wondered if she'd been like this all night and he didn't even notice!

 ** _Why_** _would you have want to notice?_ A little voice in his head asked. _There would be nothing to it_.

The Doctor then noticed Renata's pink coat neatly folded on the ground. It'd been his pillow. _Oh Renata._ She was always caring for him and everyone else around her, even when the Doctor knew they drove her mad. It was such a _kind_ quality that he didn't see in anyone else. He felt his hearts swell thinking about how she came to decide giving up her coat for him.

So, he made his own decisions. He took her coat and gently slid it under her head. She only shifted a bit and continued to sleep. Then, the Doctor took his own coat off and laid it over her body. As soon as she had felt the extra layer over her, Renata pulled it closer to her. The Doctor smiled at her and decided to figure out where they were...as quietly as possible.

A few hours later, Renata started stirring awake. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face but she actually felt pretty comfortable where she was. Along with the warmth on her face, she felt an extra layer of heat over her body. Maybe she could stay right where she was for a bit more...

"...that lasts thousands of years and thousands of moon tides under the right conditions…"

Renata groaned. That was definitely an alarm. She snapped her eyes open and sat upright.

"Ah, Renée!" the Doctor was up and talking to Munmeth. "You're up!"

"Yeah and…" Renata yawned, "...so are you. Your head-"

"-all fine, see?" the Doctor pointed to the injured spot on his forehead that no longer bore any cut. "Thanks to our friend here, Munmeth!" He made a gesture at the man sitting near the campfire.

Renata needed a few more minutes to gather her bearings. She slept more than she'd planned to and her body wasn't really used to such a thing. "What is this…?" she lifted the familiar brown trench coat off her body and held it to the Doctor.

"You looked kind of cold earlier," he walked over to take it back then held a hand for her. She grabbed it and got up from the ground. "Thanks for the help yesterday. Donna and Gabby told me you stayed with me. They also told me that you used your regeneration energy on me."

Renata awkwardly nodded and looked around for the two blabbers. She spotted the two huddled near the fireplace and glared at them. They quickly dove their gazes to the fire. "Right, well, you would've done the same."

"Of course," the Doctor instantly said, momentarily startling Renata with his quickness to agree. There he went again making such statements. But it wasn't like he had to think about it, especially when he learned she'd willingly used her regeneration energy on him. That was limited, even more so now that it was just them and she'd chosen to use it on two petty injuries of his. " _Thank you_ ," he smiled softly at her.

Renata nodded her head and matched the Doctor's smile with her own. She silently screamed at her hearts to _slow down_ though because at the rate they were going, they might burst from her chest.

Donna nudged Gabby and nodded towards the pair. "That's what I mean," she whispered to Gabby since neither alien had looked away from each other. They seemed stuck in their endless smiling. Gabby could agree in that moment, but she probably wouldn't be so outspoken like Donna.

"Well, thank you Munmeth," Renata turned to Munmeth with a warm smile. "I truly am grateful for your help." Munmeth gave an acknowledging nod. Renata looked around and noticed the cave drawings on a wall that most certainly wasn't there the previous night.

"I'm a signmaker," Munmeth said since he noticed where her looks were.

"Drawing...one of the first and oldest forms of technologies," Renata mused over the odd pictures. A lot of it seemed like a bunch of squiggles and circles but she was sure it meant a lot more to Munmeth.

"I make signs, or fire dances, to try to trap the things I see in memory," Munmeth explained.

"Symbolic thinking," hummed the Doctor.

"I see many things for which I have no words. Yet the way you both speak is as clear as running water. I begin to see your meanings, inside my head."

Renata had to chuckle as she said, "You're understanding the Doctor?" she pointed at the man. "That's a true talent."

The Doctor only briefly glared at her while both Donna and Gabby snickered behind. He shook his head at them and redirected his attention to Munmeth. "Munmeth, my friend, you are _so_ ahead of your time!"

"You're an artist," Gabby said with a grin. "And I identify with that. I want to be an artist too."

Munmeth nodded but he seemed preoccupied with his drawings, as if something perturbed him.

"You alright?" asked Donna.

"These curved things...almost as a full moon…" he traced his fingers over the circles on the wall, "...but flat like a river pebble, each one riding upon the wind itself. They're hunters from the sky. They took some of the river people as they speared fish."

"Speared fish?" repeated Renata. She glanced at the Doctor to see if he'd caught on as well. "The fishing village we saw before the mammoths."

"Mhm," he agreed. It had looked like a pleasant, normal village.

"So, what are these?" Gabby had gotten up from the ground to go point at the red circles on the wall.

"Others," answered Munmeth. "Not the sky hunters. I have seen these only once."

"But we haven't," Donna muttered and looked up at the pair of aliens. "Right?"

"They're fighting…?" the Doctor presumed.

"When they came, they follow the sky hunters and I heard noises like A storm. Little fires burst across the air. The spearfishers called me as they were taken. I know them - Kria, Meerok, Nekma. They called out for help...and I ran." There was a deep sorrow laced with guilt etched across Munmeth's face. It was clear he regretted his actions but even then it probably wouldn't have matter if he'd stayed or not. What he saw was not of this world.

"There is no shame in that, Munmeth," the Doctor said as a means of comfort. It was understandable.

"I _ran_ ," Munmeth repeated himself with more harshness. "I am Munmeth of of the Wolf Tree Clan. I've faced lions, hyenas, long tusks! I do _not_ run away! The River people's clan Elder asked me for help, to find others to aid them against the sky hunters. But, none will help or they have been taken. I want to protect my own clan from the sky hunters too."

"Well, lucky we ran into you then!" the Doctor declared happily. "We'll help you, Munmeth!"

Munmeth stared at him like he was crazy. "You will?"

The Doctor didn't falter. "Of course! Right?" he checked for Renata's opinion then Donna's and Gabby's. They all seemed on board, including Renata.

"Of course," Renata smiled kindly at the stunned Munmeth. "You helped us when we needed it. It's only fair we return the favor."

~0~

Munmeth led the group into the River Clan's village only to find it desolate. Despite searching through the tents and even in the immediate area, they found no one.

"We must hurry! I want to make sure my own clan are safe!" Munmeth took charge again and hurried out of the village.

"What do you think happened to them?" Donna whispered to the Doctor and Renata.

"Maybe it's just extinction," Gabby's uncharacteristically sour answer gathered the attention of the group quite fast. She did a double take when she noticed their reactions. "What? I just…" she sighed, "I don't like using the word neanderthal to describe Munmeth but that's what he is. And we all know what happens to them...they die. We, Sapiens, drive them to extinction, right?"

"Gabby," Renata smiled sadly at the girl full of unnecessary guilt. "I don't really think it's because of 'Sapiens'. I think it's just evolution that does it all." She checked her facts with the Doctor, while also silently begging for his help. The last thing she wanted was for Gabby to blame herself of something she had no control over.

"Honestly, no one really knows," the Doctor said. "It didn't happen suddenly. It occurred slowly, over thousands of years. In the end, I think they just got out-competed by your lot. You can overtake evolution by rapidly modifying yourselves and the way you think."

"But we're not better," Gabby shook her head. "I mean...Sapiens... we're... we're aggressive, violent...my lot and a whole bunch of other species out there in the cosmos, right?"

"I mean...she does make a point," Donna quietly inputted her opinion on the matter. She wasn't as animated as Gabby but she did agree on most of what she was saying. "We developed but...are we any better? The way Munmeth thinks... he's a lot better than most of the blokes I've met."

"I think we're getting a little bit agitated over the wrong things," Renata sighed.

"When you-" Gabby pointed a gloved finger at the Doctor, "-go on about how great humanity's potential is, what you really mean is how great Homo Sapiens' potential is."

"Now that is not true," Renata said before the Doctor even opened his mouth. Her eyebrows had furrowed together in irritation. "You have no bloody idea how much this idiot loves this planet and all of its people. And I do mean _all_."

The Doctor smiled at Renata in wide grin. "Well thanks for that, Renée." The blonde Time Lady rolled her eyes playfully. The Doctor then turned his attention to Gabby who was still distraught. "Time travelers, it gets to you sometimes. Nothing you feel is bad, just...perhaps out of proportion."

Gabby could agree there. These were thoughts she that she would've never had of she hadn't met the Doctor and Renata. But even then she didn't regret anything. She'd rather be here than stuck at home in the laundromat and the restaurant. She would just have to learn to take things in a better way.

"Noomin!" Munmeth's sudden cry pulled the group's attention ahead. Munmeth had found an elderly woman climbing down from a higher ground. "Noomin! What are you doing here!?"

"Oh Munmeth, you've returned!" the woman cried and hurried to Munmeth.

"Noomin, where is Muthmunna?"

"I'm sorry-"

"-sorry? Where is she?" Munmeth asked again, though more urgently. "I told you to go with her to the Shaman's caves!"

"The whole clan did as you said!" Noomin promised. She seemed far too distraught for someone wandering alone in the woods. "Then the Sky Hunters came. They flew over us as we walked. Like great birds, and everyone ran and…" she trailed off when she saw the travelers catching up.

"Is everyone alright!?" Renata quickly asked and looked around for any obvious danger zones.

"Newcomers," Noomin blinked. "So strange…"

"They are friends," Munmeth clarified. "Now where is Muthmunna?"

Noomin got lost in anger. She pushed Munmeth away from her and exclaimed, "I'm sorry Munmeth! No one can help against death! Muthmunna was taken by the Sky Hunters! They were all taken! They didn't take me or old Rigro. He fell and smashed his head and I ran for my life."

"That sounds...gruesome," Donna whispered to Gabby who quickly nodded in shared fear.

"I thought they'd be safe at the Shaman's caves," Munmeth said in confusion. He seemed lost, hope dwindling as the reality set.

Noomin shook her head. "You should all run too!" And she took off into the woods.

"Who is Muthmunna?" asked Gabby, but Munmeth didn't answer.

The Doctor took in a deep breath and exhaled with a "Right!" coming out of his mouth. He pulled out his sonic and started examining the area. "Now this might look very strange to you Munmeth, but this is just a special kind of fire to protect us."

"Doctor, what are you doing?" asked Donna.

"I'm giving us a fake biometric signature. Those Antigrav discs that are kidnapping people are very picky about who they are choosing, so I'm making sure they'll be taking us next time they appear."

Donna stared at him for a few seconds, only blinking as a reaction, then turned to Renata. "What's he doing?"

"The Sky Hunters are aliens," Renata shrugged. "He's making us look very appealing."

"Well I think it's working cos look over there!" Gabby cried out with a finger pointed up at the sky.

The group turned their heads up to the sky to see spaceships zooming by.

"This is going to be a rough ride, everyone," the Doctor warned them as he put away his sonic. "And don't run."

"Are you kidding me!?" Donna exclaimed.

One of the spaceships released two yellow string-looking pieces.

"Energy nets!" the Doctor recognized them first. "Hang on-" Said yellow strings wrapped him up in two seconds.

"Doctor!" Renata called after him as he was yanked up into the sky.

"Renata, we're seriously not supposed to run!?" Gabby cowered behind the Time Lady. She didn't want those string things to take her too.

Munmeth was next on the list and went up to the sky. Renata breathed heavily but she knew this was the Doctor's plan. If they wanted to know what was happening, they needed to be taken away.

"Yes, don't run," Renata hated the answer, but no one more than Gabby.

"Ren, you better be right about this - AAAH!" Donna screamed when the nets wrapped her body like a present.

Renata closed her eyes and allowed herself to be taken as well. Gabby was the last one, but she did try to run for a few seconds before she pulled into the sky.

"Gabby, don't fight it!" the Doctor called from his next prison. Each spaceship now had butterfly nets underneath it, carrying each prisoner like a butterfly.

Gabby squirmed as the strings moved her around to trap her in a net like the others. But one wrong (or perhaps right) move ripped one of the next around her waist.

"GABBY!" Renata screamed when she saw the young girl fall from the net's hold. She shook her own net urgently as if ripping hers would somehow help Gabby.

A different type of spaceship - resembling - a rocketship - zipped by in time to catch Gabby in a blue field. As soon as it had Gabby captured, the spaceship fired against the Sky Hunter ships.

"Doctor, we have to get to Gabby!" Renata cried but their concern was short-lived because each of their nets released two more 'strings' that attached to their temples.

Gabby was horrified (and terrified) to see all of her friends scream in pain until they were out cold. The war between the Sky Hunter ships and the rocketship went on for a bit more until one Sky Hunter ship went down.

"You disgusting impostor," Gabby suddenly heard a voice insult her. Gabby hadn't realized when she was brought into the spaceship, but there was an eerie blue surrounding her.

"I-I thought I was getting rescued here," she said, trying to find courage she did not own in that moment.

"Rescued?" the same voice scoffed. "What a filthy trick "

"Let's just atomize her and be done with it," went a second voice.

Gabby almost squeaked in terror. "There is no trick, possibly a misunderstanding but definitely no trick!" She wanted to stand but the field was still around her and she couldn't very well see outside of it. "My name's Gabby."

"You are not a native to this place. Explain," the first voice commanded.

"Kind of wrong there," Gabby nervously smiled. "I _am_ a native here. Trust me."

"No!" roared the second voice, making the girl flinch. "We already exposed your fraudulent biometric cloak."

"Oh, that was just a disguise to confuse the, we, Sky Hunters. You know, the big frisbees, the Antigrav Discs."

"I knew it!" a third voice exclaimed. "She's in league with them!"

Gabby shivered when the field began to drop around her. Her chest heaved hard once she saw the group that'd been talking to her. A team of...aliens?

"We have to kill her right now!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say that I'm still cracking up at Renata being afraid of the little animal and denying it. I don't know why but something about it is just so hilarious xD
> 
> P. S: I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	19. The Monaxi Reality Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor discovers who the Sky Hunters really are and he, along with Renata and everyone else, have to put up the fight of their lives in order to end the Monaxi's little horror show.
> 
> Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

Gabby felt like her head was spinning. Her kidnappers - or saviors, it was still in the air - were talking at the same time, one voice over the other, so she didn't really know where to interrupt to make her case. She was grateful that one of them - the only human-looking one - had stopped the team from killing her on the spot but now they were all _arguing_ with each other. Actually, on some level it was mind of funny because they started out debating what to do with her and somehow ended up arguing with each other over other things.

"Only you were stupid enough to get caught by them too!"

"Come on! Let's just fry her already!"

"Be quiet! Everyone, I'm trying to think!"

Gabby hadn't even gotten up from where the ship's force-field placed her after being brought into the ship. She was afraid that if she moved even an inch, everyone would shoot her. _You can't just sit there and let your friends die!_ She exhaled deeply. She really couldn't just sit there. Her eyes flickered to the human man who seemed to be taking the reigns of the team. He could be her only salvation right now.

"Y-you," she found her opportunity to speak once the Earth man shut the other members up. "You're a human like me, right?"

The man furrowed his eyebrows at her. She at least didn't seem like he wanted to kill her, unlike the others, which gave Gabby hope that this was the right way to go.

"Yes, I am," he answered in a gruff tone.

"So am I!" Gabby exclaimed and pulled herself up to her feet. "If you can scan for a false bio signature, you should be able to pinpoint the origin of my DNA. You'll find I'm a native too!"

One of the members - a blue alien creature with a tiny head, a squared body and fat legs - scanned her with a circular object on its chest. "She's right," it declared a few seconds later. It brought up one of its skinny (almost tentacle-like) arms to the Earth man. It's hand was a screen that showed the results of the test on Gabby. "She's telling the truth boss, except there's an anomaly. Her DNA is genetically distinct. A throw forward, like she's from another time zone."

Gabby gulped. "I can...I can explain that…"

"What, you're a tourist from the future? That's even worse!" a bald, humanoid man with two sets of eyes growled. Gabby did not like his buff arms holding a high tech gun at her.

"And impossible," added a tall, green humanoid women with long, like hair.

"Not at all," went a pine tree-looking alien. "It's just not allowed. Generally speaking, anyway. I have seen future days…"

"Shut up, all of you!" the Earth man ordered again. "This data says you're from the world's future, supposing that were even possible," he looked at Gabby. "Why are you here?"

Gabby didn't answer straight away because she was a little bit distracted with the blue alien's tentacles floating around her. "Umm...to stop the Sky - I mean the Monaxi?" She had no idea what the 'Monaxi' were but she figured it was the name of the creatures behind the 'Sky hunters'. "That's what the Doctor and Renata do. They help. We help."

"What? You're conscientious objectors? I hate them almost as much as I hate tourists," the buff alien huffed.

"Last time some well-meaning protesters were captured by the Monaxi," the woman said. "They got themselves splattered across three valleys."

Gabby's eyes widened.

"Right. That's not what's needed here, future girl," the pine tree alien said.

"We are one cell amongst many who resist the Monaxi," the Earth man explained.

"They're invading," Gabby nodded. That much she could conclude on her own based on what she'd already seen.

"No, they're enslavers. They use this area's people and many others as a stock cupboard. Or pantry, based on whom they're selling them to."

_Oh, this is bad_ , Gabby gulped.

~0~

"It's _hot_ ," Donna concluded almost as soon as she was conscious.

The Doctor was already standing up and gazing about. Wherever they were it was very different from the woods. For starters, Donna was right. It was blazing hot. They were in a desert that even included the traditional three birds flying in the sky that one would usually see on t.v. There was a lake not so far away from where they were but that was pretty much it.

"Doctor, where are we?" Donna got up and looked about.

"Never mind that," Renata stood up fast, but doing that too fast left her wobbly on her legs for a bit. "We need to find Gabriella and fast. Who knows where she is or who took her."

"Meerox?"

The trio turned to see Munmeth calling to another trio from a distance.

"Doctor, I don't like this place," Renata told the man. None of them were really concerned with who Munmeth was talking to considering they looked like they were part of his clan or the River clan. She was more worried about Gabby and where she ended up. Of course she wasn't denying _they_ weren't in enough danger themselves. Already they had been attacked earlier and were taken away by the nets only to be deposited where they were now.

"I may have an idea of who's playing with us," the Doctor said quietly so Donna wouldn't hear.

Renata looked at him with widened eyes. "Someone you know?" She didn't mean to sound accusatory, but that's how she sounded and for a moment the Doctor lowered his head. "Doctor, I-I didn't…" she sighed. "This isn't you. Whoever did this is at fault. And we're gonna find them."

"Munmeth, watch out!" Donna shouted and ran to yank the man back before one of the trio of his clan speared him to death.

"But I know them!" Munmeth was stunned that he'd nearly been killed by his own friends.

"Nobody's a friend here," the Doctor eyed the trio carefully.

Renata seized the spear that had nearly taken Munmeth and held it threateningly at the clan trio. "I don't know who's pulling your strings but you better stay the hell away from us."

"Munmeth, if we don't fight you, we'll be punished," the women from the trio answered.

"Oh," Renata straightened up a bit. "So they're _real_." She thought they might have been projections or basic technology but no, they were actual people.

"No we don't!" the Doctor snatched the spear from the Renata's hand and struck it into the air just as a huge bird - a pterodactyl - swooped over them. It came crashing down with sparks and its head rolling to the side.

"It's a robot," Donna caught the wires sticking out from the bird's neck. She flinched when the Doctor smashed its head with his foot. It was very aggressive and unlike him, but the situation called for it. "Now listen to me," the Doctor turned to the clan trio, "We don't have much time. This was not a bird. It was a camera." He pulled out his glasses to examine the bird. "It was the eyes of those who are truly watching you, stealing you from your homes, making you fight. We need to destroy as many of these cy-birds as we can."

"Who is this stranger?" a blonde man asked then eyed Renata and Donna.

"Who are you to tell us what to do?" asked the second man, a bald man.

"Seriously?" Renata groaned. "I really hate when they do this," she looked at the Doctor. "Humans can be very slow sometimes."

"Oi!" Donna elbowed her in the ribs.

"Quickly, we don't have much time," the Doctor pulled the spear from the ground again.

"Do as he says," Munmeth urged his people. "He is...the medicine man."

~0~

"Gabby, I'm Effrid Blink and these are my associates," the Earth man was introducing himself to Gabby. The team was somewhat more amiable than before but the only one who really seemed to take an honest, friendly attitude towards Gabby was Effrid.

Gabby still put on her best, warmest smile as Effrid introduced her to each of the crew members.

"Mem-brain was liberated from a Monaxi circus. He can't remember his real name."

The buff alien in question only huffed and went to the computers along with the woman with them.

"Unta, a Jerdian, whose world has become considerably more warlike in response to the Monaxi threat…"

Gabby wiggled her fingers in a hello manner but neither alien in question seemed to care for it...except for Tony.

"I'm Tony, hi!" the blue-squared alien that had scanned her earlier waved one it's tentacles at her. It definitely cheered up Gabby a bit.

"Tony, as inscrutable as he is useful," Effrid seemed closer to smiling. "It was he who rescued me from Monaxi. The tender mercies long ago. I still don't know what's inside that plasma suit he wears, but I trust him with my life."

Gabby eyed Tony's exterior with newfound curiosity since his skin wasn't skin but a suit. "Nice to meet you all."

"If you're sticking around, girlie, make yourself useful," Unta said as she sat down in front of the computers like Mem-brain.

"It's really nice to meet you all," Gabby said rather fast as she had more pressing matters to get to. "Listen, my friends got taken away and I really need to find them."

"Guerilla tactics are best when dealing with the Monaxi," Effrid went to take the head chair of the controls.

"That way we were made a hazard for the relatively minor operation they have going here," Tony said.

"What do you mean?" Gabby neared the screens, wishing to God she had learned some basic alien language in the past but...alas, she had not. "I really need to find my friends."

"We keep them from decimating the population," Effrid looked back at the concerned Gabby. "That's about all we can do. Resources are stretched."

"Well...how long has the Monaxi been doing this?" Gabby asked.

"Too long," sighed Effrid. "Longer than I can remember."

"They're like a plague," Tony shook his tiny head. "We'd need an army to drive them back."

"No," Gabby said matter-of-factly. She immediately had the looks of Unta and Mem-brain. "You need Renata and the Doctor. Trust me."

~0~

The Doctor had led the group through the 'desert' and discovered many more cy-animals that contained cameras. They were being watched through everything it seemed.

"Are we clear on what we do, then?" the Doctor asked the group once they stopped by another lake for a quick rest and catch up. Munmeth's friends still seemed a bit unconvinced that the Doctor's plan was the way to go, but it was really the only plan they had that gave them a chance to survive. "Whatever happens, whatever you see, and no matter how terrifying it looks...stick to the plan." He reached for his sonic inside his coat and started examining the lake in front of them.

Renata noticed the worried looks from the others and assumed they still weren't very trusting of their technology. "It's really alright," she assured them. "It's just a sonic...which...you don't really understand either…"

"As I suspected - hard light synthetics," the Doctor read off his sonic.

Donna crossed her arms and gave the man a pointed look. "And for those of us who don't speak 'Doctor'?" she then glanced at Renata but the Time Lady put her hands up.

"Don't look at me, I barely know what he's talking about sometimes."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at their conversation. "I meant it's holographic. It can be disrupted. As can anything else on similar wavelengths."

Donna practically glared at him. "I still don't know what the hell you mean!"

"Nothing here is real," the Doctor lowered his sonic with a heavy sigh.

"Doctor…" Renata had caught something dark forming across the lake. She took a few steps forwards, letting the water hit her ankles, but she didn't seem to mind getting wet. "What's that?" she pointed up ahead.

Sand swirled as if there was a sandstorm coming. Something black was forming in the middle of it and it looked to be huge.

"Positions people!" the Doctor immediately shouted. "Remember to wait for my signal!"

Donna was the first to rush away but she pulled Munmeth with her, who then brought along the rest.

"Renée, you too," the Doctor reminded but Renata shook her head.

"I want to know who the hell created all this and took Gabriella from us," she said with a deep scowl across her face. Her eyes narrowed as the creature from the sandstorm finally emerged but there was an immediate confusion once she saw its squid figure. "I'm sorry-" she blinked, "-are we under the sea?"

"I should've recognized all the trademark signs of oppression," the Doctor frowned. "A whole holographic coliseum to test out the qualities of those they enslave."

"I must have missed that class," Renata mumbled. She studied the bright orange squid coming towards them on its dozens of long tentacles. Its top part resembled a circular spaceship but it was still bright orange with only a streak of silver at its middle.

"The energy nets, indiscriminate use of tractor beams directly upon living matter, dumping unwanted captives from great heights...the needless cruelty…" the Doctor reached for Renata's hand, gripping it tight as soon as he held her. "Everyone, now!" He dove to the ground, pulling Renata with him, and allowed for a perfect target that the others could get.

Everyone threw piles of sand at the squid, delaying its arrival to their side of the lake. The Doctor then aimed his sonic at the squid and activated it. The squid's orange and silver top seemed to rise a bit and revealed a monster-like head underneath complete with classic horror, sharp teeth and dozens of eyes.

"What _is_ that, Doctor!?" Donna watched the squid struggle to stay on its tentacles thanks to the sonic.

"A species of traders that prey on less advanced lifeforms and sells them to high civilizations," the Doctor said. "An elusive race known to be that rare thing, a composite of physical matter and energy. And if I am recalling correctly, you also pipe the gladiatorial spectacle from these coliseums back to your homeships. Munmeth, Kria, now!"

Munmeth and Kria came running with a huge, fashioned net between them. Between them and Renata, they threw the net over the squid and essentially knocked it to its side. The Doctor's sonic was messing with the squid's tech on its top.

"Pitiful little...bipeds…" the squid groaned and slowly picked itself up again, tossing the net to the side.

"Oh, it _talks_ ," Donna made a gesture as if she should've known it would've talked.

" _Good_ ," Renata glared at it. "So it can tell us where the hell we are and where the hell Gabriella is."

"You'll regret causing damage and delay," the squid warned.

"Try me," Renata was quick to say despite not having much to defend herself with.

"Renée, just stay back!" the Doctor exclaimed as he kicked up the energy from his sonic.

"I may not have a sonic but I do have my ways," Renata scowled.

"Yeah, well, as much as I'm very curious how your balled fists are going to solve this...let me just take care of it!" the Doctor put himself in front of her and used every last bit of energy to finally put the creature down.

The squid collapsed on its own tentacles and as it went down, the orange faded from its skin and left it with a rotten, green color.

"Is it...dead?" asked Donna made sure to stay a few feet away from them just in case.

"I ruptured his energy carapace," the Doctor shrugged as he tucked his sonic back into his pocket. "I popped him...but he'll recover eventually."

"I need him to talk _now_ ," Renata snapped, although not directly at him. She was just upset that so far they hadn't gotten any clue of where they were and they were no closer to finding Gabby either.

"Renée, we're dealing with the Monaxi," the Doctor told her and watched her blink in realization. "They might be vicious but maybe they aren't as tough as they look."

"How could I have missed what they were?" Renata brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed hard circles over her skin.

"It's impossible to remember every single race we learned about…"

"You don't forget."

"I'm not normal."

That made Renata smile for a moment. Of course, the Monaxi finally spoke up and ruined their moment.

"How could a stupid local biped like you know that we are Monaxi?"

"You actually can't tell the difference between any of us, can you?" snapped the Doctor. "We're all just two-legged insects to you, huh!? Just raw material to be enslaved or slaughtered."

"It's not like you matter."

Renata actually gasped out of pure offence. "This is why I don't like travelling sometimes," she looked at the Doctor. "Because every once in a while, you meet creatures like these."

"It's a good thing we're not just any travelers," the Doctor looked directly at the Monaxi. "Constellation of Kasterberous ring a bell?"

It definitely did. "Not possible…"

Renata actually wanted to grab the Doctor's arm when he started walking towards the Monaxi. She didn't want him anywhere near the creature who still had possession of its dozen tentacles.

"Your psi-control maintaining the illusion of this place is weak," the Doctor spat. "I will ask you this only once: bring down this holographic lieso we can see where we _really_ are."

"If you insist," the Monaxi surprisingly said.

The area around the group began to glow for a minute then died a few seconds to reveal a coliseum and they were right in the middle of it.

"What are these strange caves?" Munmeth was wide-eyed at the structure around them. Glass walls lined the circular wall on each level where there were supposed to be benches.

"They're not caves," Renata moved towards one glass wall. Now it was the Doctor who wanted to keep her close. "They're...cages…"

"What?" Munmeth looked at her.

"Imagine a net for people, a net that you can't get out of," Renata stopped walking and turned sideways to meet the man's gaze. "Everyone who has been taken is in here, in these walls…"

Munmeth didn't seem to believe it at first but once he heard the cry of his daughter, who was stuck behind one of the glass walls, it all seemed to make sense. He rushed for his daughter but came crashing into the glass instead. "Doctor, you must help me! Muthmunna!" he banged against the glass.

"I don't suppose there's a button or something we can push?" Donna quietly asked Renata.

Renata shot a glare at the Monaxi that'd brought them here. "Not unless it's feeling generous."

The Doctor shared the glare on the creature. "Drop the cage shields, Monaxi," he spat the name out.

The Monaxi's dozen eyes glowed a bright red. "I can't do that."

"Do it or I'll do worse than give your energy sac a puncture," the Doctor whipped out his sonic again and threatened the Monaxi with it.

"You misunderstand me. I am unable to. I don't have the etheric key. Only our leader possesses that."

And just as it finished explaining, something a deep orange light burst from its top. The Doctor just barely jumped out of the way when it exploded. He landed face first but looked up in time to see an even bigger Monaxi floating in the air.

"You'd risk taking the life of one of your own just to be sure of shooting me in the back!? You must be really scared!"

"I'm scared for _you_ \- get over here!" Renata practically hissed at him from her spot. She felt completely useless being unable to remember anything about the stupid creatures. She admitted there were a few times where she wouldn't pay attention in school, and much more - ironically - when she spent a lot of her time with a young Doctor.

"Gallifreyans. I know what you are," the larger Monaxi remarked. "I am Iktra. My colleague here, Vozmarth, is young, ambitious, inexperienced and foolish. He never was good for much and now he's lived up to his promise."

"It's his fault you fired him?" the Doctor almost laughed. "That's harsh even by Monaxi standards."

"You dare judge me, Time Lord?" the Monaxi lowered its body a bit as if to look the Doctor face-to-face. "In ancient times, of all the races we traded with, _yours_ were the cruelest...the most demanding. Your kind had the most unrelenting of appetites, you were the most terrifying in your ambivalence. You use your time scoops to populate your own coliseums, your death zone, but you needed the likes of us too. You demanded gladiators for your entertainment and we supplied them."

"At least not all of us were awful," Renata called out, gaining his attention whether or not the Doctor wanted it. "We may have started out that way but some of us learned and evolved. I don't think the same applies to your people."

"At least my people are alive."

Renata's face fell flat.

"Word gets around, Time Lords. You'd have to go back to primeval times to find any of your kind outside the time lock."

"Now!" Donna suddenly shouted and when Renata and the Doctor looked back to see Donna leading the others with the huge net from earlier. They threw it over the Monaxi once again.

"You filthy bipeds!" the Monaxi shook against the net. "You cannot hold a Monaxi! I'll kill you all!"

But this time they were ready for him. One man jumped with the net to stand on top of the Monaxi and secure the net. Donna pulled hard and had the others follow her lead.

Renata actually smiled at the efforts. "It's moments like these where I can see why you appreciate the humans so much," she told the Doctor. He gave her a side-glance that encompassed his surprise at her words, but also a newfound fondness for her. He'd been getting those lately, actually.

"Use that sonic of yours to disrupt his energy carapace as well," she suddenly instructed. "If this Monaxi is the leader then by de-activating his energy carapace…"

"...we can essentially de-activate the others," the Doctor finished with a huge grin. "Renée, you're a genius!"

"I...wouldn't go that far," Renata made a face.

The Doctor didn't care for that statement. He thought she was incredibly smart, but that was a conversation for another time. "Keep him steady!" He told the others and hurried to take his sonic out again.

"We're...trying!" Donna struggled with her end of the net so Renata ran to help her.

The Monaxi shook violently to rid itself of the net. "You can't hold me!"

"Monaxi, cease all hostile actions immediately!" rang a loud voice. For a moment, the Monaxi stopped and it gave the Doctor the perfect chance to de-activate.

Once more his sonic lit up when it took aim against the Monaxi. Even as it shook, its orange color began to glow to eventually fade away just like before. "Cranking up the levels!" the Doctor was happy to report despite the terrible struggle he was now facing as well.

"Monaxi, surrender now!" rang the same voice from before.

"Where's that coming from!?" Donna wildly looked around in case they would also be attacked from something else.

Renata was the first to see a huge ship - no, rocketship. She gasped and unintentionally let go of her part of the net. "It's the ship that took Gabriella!"

Donna nearly fell back from when Renata let go of the net. "Would you be so kind to _keep_ helping!"

"Sorry!" Renata quickly reached for her part again. "But that's the ship! We have to get Gabriella back!"

"Monaxi! Cease or we'll slice you in half!"

"I'd rather not go anywhere near that thing!" Donna cried as soon as she'd heard the threat. "If it shoots it'll hurt us too!"

Renata's eyes widened. "Good point! Everyone!" she yelled to those aiding them. "Get away from the Monaxi!" she made the gesture for them to follow her. "Doctor, you too!"

"Just a bit more!" the Doctor kept a steady aim on the Monaxi. "I've almost drained it!"

A few seconds later came the promise of a blast that sliced the Monaxi in half. The force threw everyone on the ground.

"Doctor!?" Renata was quick to call when she raised her head off the ground.

"I'm here, I'm here!" he was shaking his head to get rid of some straggling sand. "And whoever just attacked did help with de-activating the energy sources, so...I guess we should thank them?"

Renata discarded his confusion and gazed up at the huge ship in the sky. "We need to get Gabriella back."

But before they could even think of a plan, the ship took position to land. It lowered itself to the ground and opened its cargo door. A few seconds later, a few aliens, plus two humans, emerged from it.

"Renata! Doctor! Donna!" Gabby came running up to the trio.

"Gabriella, thank goodness you're alright!" Renata hugged the girl tightly. "You _are_ alright...right?"

Gabby laughed as she pulled away. "Yes. They-" she pointed over her shoulder to the team she was with, most of which were now helping get the prisoners out of their glass cages, "-are rebellion fighters."

"Lucky for you, then," Donna crossed her arms. "Meanwhile, we were stuck fighting for a reality show."

"Donna," the Doctor shook his head at the poor comparison.

"That's what it was!"

Gabby chuckled.

~0~

Once Effrid had rounded the last of the Monaxi still straggling about, the Doctor felt it was right to leave. They had also helped Munmeth and his people into Effrid's ship so that they could be returned home.

"What about the other Monaxi?" Gabby asked the trio once they neared the TARDIS. "Would they come here to investigate why all their people disappeared?"

"Nah," the Doctor didn't hesitate to shake his head. "Monaxi always want things easy so I've rigged up a warning beacon. If more come this way, they'll know that this world is defended by us." He smiled specifically at Renata, but the woman only laughed.

"Oh please, like you said, what am I going to do with my balled fists?" she raised her two fists and tilted her head at them. "Not much, I think." She chuckled again and went inside the TARDIS first.

The Doctor seemed to think of something that kept him lingering outside even when Gabby and Donna went inside, something that brought out a big smile from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who have read this actual comic story, you know that I decided to cut it short. I just didn't feel like the extended part was relevant to the story I wanted to tell. But I do make up for it with an original chapter coming up in a few chapters!
> 
> But hey, what do you guys think the Doctor thought of in the end? Hmmm...
> 
> P. S: I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	20. The Unicorn, the Wasp and the Golden Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The idea was to attend a nice, relaxing party in the 1920s, but instead the group get an alien bee and a thief. Still, it's one of the few times that the Doctor sees Renata genuinely excited over a trip...she gets to work with an author she admires, Agatha Christie!

"The 1920s? Are we really going to the 1920s?" Gabby followed Renata around the TARDIS wardrobe room like a lost puppy. "New York!?"

Renata scoffed very uncharacteristically. "I think _not_. I specifically told the Doctor you were not allowed there."

Gabby's pout resembled that of a child being told 'no'. "Why not?"

"Because I've been there…" Renata began looking through a rack of 20s clothing, "...and it is not a place for you. It's full of alcohol and violence and humans are very susceptible to it."

"But there was prohibition there!"

Renata scoffed again. "And you really think that was the end of it? Ever heard of speakeasies?"

Gabby's face lit up at the mention of the family establishments. "Yes!"

"Not gonna happen!"

Gabby pouted again. "Dammit!"

"Language," Renata calmly reminded while she looked through a few dresses.

Gabby moped as she moved around a few racks herself. "So if we're not going to New York in the 20s, where _are_ we going?"

~0~

The Doctor was getting impatient with his friends. Yes he was aware that he wasn't the most patient man as it was but he felt like this time it was appropriate. There he stood outside the TARDIS, in front of a beautiful home and no one was there with him. "Would you hurry up?" he banged on the TARDIS doors. "We'll be late for cocktails!"

Donna was the first to poke her head out and reveal a nice, black and orange dress on her that hung a few inches above her knees. Her ginger curls we're nearly tucked into a small low bun. "What do you think? Flapper or slapper?"

"Flapper. You look lovely," the Doctor gestured her to come on out already and was relieved to catch Renata and Gabby's forms coming out from the corridors. "We're going to be late!"

"We're not even invited!" Renata shouted just as they'd come out.

"You want to shout that a little louder?" Donna pointer over her shoulder where the party was going on.

"Sorry," Renata did apologize before setting her eyes on the Doctor. "And you...are you sure coming to an elegant home is the way to stay down-low?"

"Mhm, yup," he answered fairly fast. His attention was mostly on her choice of dress.

She had chosen a white-gold dress with a mermaid scale pattern with golden fringe down the waist. The gold outlined each scale pattern as well as the hemline of the sweetheart neckline. Her usual long hair was tucked someway that made it her hair seemed like it a true 1920s haircut. Her face was brightened with a light, natural makeup.

She looked absolutely beautiful.

The Doctor was reminded of her 1913 look and wouldn't you know it? It brought up the same feelings - he didn't even realize he still had them. What was he supposed to do with them? _Get rid of them, what else!?_ They were itty-bitty things that were so irrelevant he shouldn't even pay attention to them.

_That's the plan! Now let's execute it..._

"Oh wow, this is a really big house!" Gabby's excitement pulled the Doctor's attention. She was staring at the two-story house across from them with a gaping mouth. Her sapphire blue flapper dress twirled as she spun to look at every single detail of the garden.

"Hey, I helped you put that hair into a bun - don't ruin it!" Renata called in exasperation. She had properly placed Gabby's hair into a sophisticated bun and even stuck one of those black and blue feathers Gabby swore the movies always had. "Gabriella!"

Gabby stopped spinning but she laughed at Renata's face. Her face went red way too easy! "Sorry."

"Well how about instead of staring at the house we actually _go_ to the party?" Donna sarcastically gestured towards the back garden. Here they were wasting time just _staring_.

"Sounds good to me!" Gabby laughed and took the lead, despite not really knowing where she was going.

"Gabriella, hold on!" Renata called but Gabby didn't listen.

"Ah let her go, it's more interesting this way," the Doctor grinned. He held her arm for Renata to take and despite her initial reluctance, she linked her arm through his.

"I guess I'll just go solo," Donna quietly though she said it with a smile. It was just too funny sometimes.

Gabby was the first one to reach the lawn and when she did she was mesmerized. There were a few tables lining the area, each full of snacks and refreshments. A few servants were finishing up setting the last of the food on the tables. There was a record player set at the right, playing soothing background music. It was all so _real_.

Gabby was beaming.

"Good afternoon!" the Doctor happily greeted the staff.

"I'm beginning to think that Gabriella really should have taught _you_ the definition of 'down low' instead of me," Renata whispered to him. Gabby thought it was important for Renata to start learning more about humans and their daily vocabulary, but Renata honestly thought slang words were horrendous. Why butcher up words when there was a proper word to use instead? Like 'down low'. What even _was_ that? Gabby had a good time explaining to Renata what the words meant, even crossing into the ' _low key_ ' territory where Renata completely got lost.

"Drink, sir? Madam?" one of the waiters, Davenport, came up to the pair.

Donna was quick to put herself beside Renata to order. "Sidecar, please!"

Gabby turned as well, still overly excited, "Oh and I want-"

"-something without alcohol," Renata finished for her. "And same for me."

"Lime and soda, thank you," the Doctor went last.

Gabby huffed at Renata. "You're my friend, not my mother!"

"But you're still not 21. Plus, you're going to want to remember this," Renata made a gesture to the garden.

Just as Gabby was about to respond, one of the waiters, Greeves, made an announcement for the group. "May I introduce Lady Clemency Eddison."

A petite, blonde woman dressed fancily arrived at the scene with a flashy smile. She soon spotted the group but unlike Renata who was already feeling nervous of their uninvited presence, the Doctor was eager to meet her.

"Lady Eddison!" he shook the woman's hand like he was talking to an old friend.

Lady Eddison looked at him for a couple seconds while she tried to place him. "Excuse me, but who exactly might you be…and what are you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor," he answered easily.

"And I'm Gabby!" Gabby was just as excited at the Doctor when she pushed her way beside him to shake Lady Eddison's hand too.

"We're about to be thrown out," Renata brought a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"Just go with it," Donna nudged her on the side before moving up to introduce herself next. "And I'm Donna Noble."

"Renata Cartwright," the Time Lady weakly said afterwards. She was calling this trip over now.

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper in front of Lady Eddison's face. "We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the ambassador's reception."

There was an immediate 'recognition' in the woman's face, one that utterly disgusted Renata.

 _How fake_ , she thought.

"Doctor, how could I forget you? But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose!"

Gabby gasped so deeply that those around her stopped to look at her. "A _unicorn_!? Are there real unicorns here!?" she started spinning around to catch sight of the unicorn until Renata forced her to stop, but by that time Gabby was a bit dizzy.

"Uh, the Unicorn. The jewel thief?" Lady Eddison clarified, though her gaze lingered on Gabby for a second. "And nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."

"Funny place to keep pears," Donna mumbled to Gabby and quietly snickered together.

"May I announce the Col Hugh Curbishley, the Hon Roger Curbishley!"

The trio then saw a young man pushing an older man in a wheelchair towards the party.

"My husband. And my son," Lady Eddison moved to join them just as they arrived.

"Forgive me for no rising. Never been the same since the flu epidemic back in '18," the older man, Hughes, laughed.

"My word! You are a super lady!" the younger man, Roger, exclaimed at Renata.

The woman seemed at a cross between amusement and confusion. "Um...thank you?"

"I''m the Doctor," the Doctor cut in to shake hands with Roger.

"How do you do?"

"Very well, thanks."

Davenport walked up with Roger with drinks on a tray. "Your usual, sir."

Roger took one of the glasses from the tray. "Ah, thank you, Davenport. Just how I like it."

Donna lightly tapped the Doctor's arm. "How come she's an Eddison but her husband and son are Curbishleys?"

"The Eddison title descends through her. One day Roger will be a Lord."

"That can't end well," Renata said. She got a ditzy vibe from the son.

"Miss Robina Redmond," the same waiter announced again.

A young dark haired woman walked up to the party in a confident stride. Even her smirk promised a party.

"She's the absolute hit of the social season. A must," Lady Eddison said as she moved to personally greet the woman. "Miss Redmond!"

Robina seemed to love the attention. "Spiffing to meet you at last, my lady!"

Another guest arrived and turned out to be a Reverend, Arnold Golightly.

"Ah, Reverend! How are you?" Lady Eddison greeted him personally as well. "I heard about the church last Thursday night, those ruffians breaking in."

"You apprehended them, I hear," Hugh added.

"As the Christian fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses," Golightly said. "Quite literally.

"Some of these young boys deserve a decent thrashing," Rogers declared.

Davenport happened to pass by and momentarily stopped by him. "Couldn't agree more, sir." They seemed to share a moment of mutual stare.

"Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus," Donna muttered, making Gabby chuckle.

"Or Time Lords," the Doctor thought to add, making Renata playfully roll her eyes.

"Oh stop it you two," she said.

"Now my lady, what about this special guest you promised us?" Golightly inquire once a the others guests were settled.

Lady Eddison was proud as she made a gesture towards an incoming woman. "Here she is. A lady who needs no introduction."

Everyone began to applaud as a woman joined the party, though unlike Robina this woman seemed more humble as she smiled at them.

"Oh, no. Please don't. Thank you, Lady Eddison," the blonde woman gave a personal greet to Lady Eddison. "Honestly, there's no need." She moved to greet the travelers. "Agatha Christie."

Donna shook hands with her, none the wiser about the woman's real identity. "What about her?"

"That's me!" the woman clarified.

Renata suddenly gasped and staggered back a few steps. "What!?" she'd even lost air in that one second.

The Doctor was the one to pull her back - an act that was shocking to him - and steadied her on her feet. "Are you alright?"

"N-no! That's-that's _Agatha Christie_!" Renata could barely put her words together. And seeing the author come towards her after greeting Gabby made Renata fall onto the Doctor's side.

"Hello," Agatha Christie extended a hand to shake with Renata but the Time Lady was still in shock to move. The Doctor had to physically move her off his side and make sure she wouldn't fall back before shaking hands with Agatha.

"You are brilliant!" he exclaimed, making Agatha blush of embarrassment. "I was just talking about you the other day, actually. I said, 'I bet she's brilliant'. I'm the Doctor and this is-" he only stopped to see how Renata was doing but she was still staring wide-eyed, "Oh, I love your stuff! What a mind! You fool me every time. Well…almost every time. Well…once or twice. Well…once. But it was a good once-"

Renata finally came back to life and whacked his arm. "Shut up. Hi!" she shook hands with Agatha, a smile quickly forming across her face, "I'm Renata and I _adore_ your books. I'm not much for human authors but _you..._ " she dramatically gasped, though in her mind it was a justified gasp, and laughed, "...you are an amazing author!"

"I have never seen Renata so excited like this," Gabby whispered to Donna who hummed in agreement. It was novelty. Renata rarely showed emotions like this, especially so _heightened_. She laughed and smiled here and there but she was always the calm one. Sometimes Gabby wondered how Renata managed to do that even when the situations just _begged_ for a roaring laugh or a wild reaction. It was graceful, but it was also odd.

And now here she was, finally expressing a loud delight. Gabby couldn't get over it. The smile on Renata's face seemed like it would crack her face any moment now, but even then she wouldn't stop.

"But it's kind of familiar," Donna said suddenly, tilting her head for a moment as she studied Renata.

"She's brilliant!" the Doctor joined Renata with the same beaming face. "I have all of your books! And I literally mean _all_ of them!"

"He does!" Renata nodded fairly fast that Agatha was concerned the woman would hurt herself. "We read them together! It's always so shocking even though we already read the books!" She laughed, almost squealing, as along with the Doctor.

" _Oh_ ," Donna suddenly went, her eyes widening while Gabby looked at her questionably. "Now I see why it's so familiar. They're the same person."

"What!?" Gabby made a face, about to politely tell Donna that was most ridiculous thing ever when she turned her attention back to Renata and the Doctor. The pair were hanging onto each other's arms, excitedly rambling on about all the books they'd read from Agatha. " _Oh_..." Gabby brought a hand up to her mouth in time to muffle her laughter, but only slightly.

 _That_ was hilarious.

"Now I can see it," Donna whispered to Gabby then. It was no longer news that Renata had some secret feelings for the Doctor and Donna honestly didn't know if that would actually work out solely because of the Time Lords contradicting personalities. The Doctor was too _him_ to ever be able to keep up with Renata's routines and calm personality, and Renata was too _her_ to keep running with the Doctor. But now Donna had no doubt that it would _so_ work. They complimented each other without even realizing it.

Agatha already disliked the huge attention she often got but at least right now she was amused. "Thank you, thank you," she managed to cut into the pair's ongoing ramble but her hand may have hurt a little after so much shaking. "You, uh, make a rather fitting couple."

That comment froze Renata for a minute. She exchanged a look with the Doctor. Their blushes were the same.

"We're not married," the Doctor shook his head.

"And we're definitely not a couple!" Renata was quick to add and untangled herself from the Doctor's arm. She didn't even realize when she grabbed it!

"Obviously not—no wedding ring," Agatha pointed to Renata's hands.

Renata did a double-take at her hands, as if she'd forgotten that she truly had no wedding ring, and laughed. "No, of course not!"

"I'd stay that way if I were you," Agatha leaned a bit closer to Renata. "The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."

Renata caught Agatha's gaze flickering between her and the Doctor and soon felt the warmth creep up on her face. "Oh! No, he's not - there is _no_ chase...at all…" she exchanged another awkward glance with the Doctor. "...right?"

"Mhm," the Doctor looked away while his own blush faded. Why would he want to chase her? Him? Chase her? Of course not!

"This just got really interesting," Donna told Gabby and Gabby almost felt like scolding Donna for her smirk but...it was a bit funny still.

"Mrs Christie, I'm so glad you could come," Lady Eddison cut in - Renata thanked the heavens - and turned Agatha towards her and the others. "I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Uh, is, uh, Mr Christie not joining us?"

The question made Agatha's face go flat. "Is he needed?" even her tone had gone sour for a second. "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"

"Yeah," Gabby did a fist in the air, one that Donna quickly lowered.

"Mrs Christie, I have a question," Roger raised a finger. "Why a Belgian detective?"

With the crowd distracted, the Doctor asked for the newspaper Hugh had. He pulled Renata with him, prompting Donna and Gabby to do the same.

"The date on this newspaper…" the Doctor skimmed the newspaper but most of his attention was on the date. "It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared."

"I remember that," Renata pointed at him while she thought back to her own days in the 20s. "It was a huge story because…" she gasped and looked at Agatha with a newfound emotion, "She just discovered her husband was having an affair."

"You'd never think to look at her smiling away," Gabby tilted her head and let her gaze follow Agatha as the author mingled with each of the guests.

"Well, she's British and moneyed. That's what they do—they carry on," the Doctor shrugged. "Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened—she just vanished."

"I remember reading the newspapers and...nobody ever figured out why she disappeared," Renata now cautiously looked around their area, as if whatever the reason would pop up in a moment. "If I remember correctly, her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later she turns up at a hotel in Harrogate. All she said was that she'd lost her memory but...I mean...I think she was just lying."

"Why?" asked Donna.

"She just found out her husband had an affair! She wanted some time alone!"

"Well...I guess..." Donna shrugged. It did sound a logical reason but maybe there was something else that happened, who knew.

Renata cleared her throat and pulled him away from the other two women to speak in a quieter voice. "Whatever happened to Agatha is going to happen today...and we are going to be smack in the middle."

But unlike her who was worried, the Doctor beamed. "I know, isn't it great!? So exciting!"

"No!" Renata hissed. "It means we brought Donna and Gabriella to another dangerous trip. Maybe we should just go."

"Oh no, we can't do that! Look at how happy they are," the Doctor made a quick gesture to Donna and Gabby who'd drifted towards the food. "Plus, you certainly seemed happy a few minutes ago. I'd definitely liked to see more of that, if I'm being honest."

Renata crossed her arms, not entirely convinced. "I'm happy plenty of times."

"C'mon Renée, loosen up a bit. You've had better times when you do that." He was careful as he uncrossed her arms for her, but he knew he was good when she started fighting a smile. "There we go. Let me show you around, yeah?"

She scoffed but laughed in the end. "Show me what? The refreshments?"

He playfully rolled his eyes and offered her his arm. "C'mon!" She sighed but linked her arm with his again. "We can take a walk along the garden later on, if you'd like?"

"To me that sounds perfect but to you I'm sure it sounds boring."

"Yeah but it makes you happy and that's what I want for you."

Renata looked up at him in surprise, but her smile was quick to come back...along with another blush. "I _am_ happy here, you know. I just can't help but worry about the dangers."

"I'm sure things will be fine-"

"The professor!" the housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala, came running towards the party. "The library! Murder! Murder!"

Renata's face fell flat and when she looked up at the Doctor again, this time he had to give in. "Okay, okay," he would give her the point.

~ 0 ~

The travelers, with Agatha, had ran first into the library where the supposed murder had occurred. Sure enough, there was the corpse of the professor on the floor. The Doctor hurried in first and bent down to examine the corpse.

"Bashed on the back of the head. Blunt instrument," he noted and tapped the professor's watch. "Watch broke as he fell, time of death was quarter past four."

"Oh! I've watched enough Law and Order to know that _this_ -" Gabby had picked up a piece of pipe near the desk, "-is the murder weapon."

"Call me Hercule Poirot but I reckon that's blunt enough," remarked Donna.

Agatha had wandered towards the fireplace and found a scrap of paper. Renata watched the author silently tuck the paper into her hand and said nothing about it.

"There's nothing worth killing for in this lot," the Doctor said, seeming disappointed his quick search of the paper pile on the desk had no good results.

"We need to call the police," Agatha announced and had the agreeing nods of the others who hadn't really dared come fully into the room.

"You don't have to," the Doctor whipped out his psychic paper. He heard Renata's sigh and couldn't help but smile. "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor. And these are…" he swayed his head at his friends for a second.

"Better be clever how you finish that sentence," Renata warned him in a whisper when she walked past him to the group. "We're assistants. We're just here to help out the, uh...inspector. Please go into the sitting room. We will question each of you in turn."

"Come along," Agatha ushered the group out of the room. "Do as they say. Keep the room undisturbed."

"Did Renata just lie?" Donna looked at the others with an expression akin to disbelief.

Renata turned around to them and sighed. "Please don't follow what I did. It's terrible."

"But needed," the Doctor pointed at her. He went searching for any other clues he may have missed the first time.

"Why don't we phone the real police?" Gabby asked.

"The last thing we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in. Especially…" the Doctor paused for a moment as he pulled something gooey off the floor, "...now that I've found this!"

"Do you know what ' _this_ ' is?" Renata inched closer as he got back on his feet.

"Morphic residue!"

"Morphic residue? In 1926?"

"Can we speak English for a second?" asked Gabby who was helplessly looking between the pair.

"It's something that gets left behind when certain species genetically re-encodes," the Doctor explained.

"So the murderer's an alien?" Donna blinked.

"Which means that one of that lot is an alien in human form."

"Yeah, but think about it. There's a murder, a mystery and Agatha Christie!"

"So?" the Doctor sniffed the residue in his possession. Renata crinkled her nose. He always had that habit no matter what incarnation, apparently. Would it ever stop!? "Happens to me all the time!"

"This is what I meant about danger!" Renata exclaimed.

"But it's also kind of exciting," Gabby walked up to stand beside her. "We get to figure out who did it. As an Agatha Christie fan, that's gotta be pretty exciting right?" she nudged Renata on the side.

"That's...not the point…"

"Oh just let go a bit!"

"Would everyone quit telling me to do that!" Renata groaned and stalked out of the room first.

"She'll get there," the Doctor said casually about it and followed her out.

Renata found Agatha in the alcove of the staircases. "Miss Christie, you shouldn't be out here on your own."

"I want to know who did this," Agatha said and paused when she saw the Doctor holding the residue. "What…?"

"We need to question the suspects," the Doctor said, putting the residue into a vial from his pocket. "Gabby, Donna, you search the bedrooms and look for clues." He leaned closer to them to whisper, "Any more residue," for better clarification. He put away the vial and took out two magnifying glasses in return. "You'll need this!"

Donna didn't seem as excited as Gabby was - she'd taken her magnifying glass without question.

"Doctor, I'm not sure about letting them go on their own…" Renata began but Gabby wagged her finger at her.

"Oh you can go question suspects! Bet that's exciting!"

"Yeah, I thought it'd be," the Doctor grinned. Donna rolled her eyes and took her magnifying glass and went up the stairs with Gabby. "Right then!" the Doctor turned to Renata and Agatha. "Solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. Brilliant!"

Agatha frowned at him. "How like a man to have fun while there's disaster all around him. I'll work with you—gladly—but for the sake of justice, not your own amusement."

The Doctor paused and took the moment to calm himself down. He may have come across as careless - it happened often.

"Hey," Renata now frowned at Agatha, "You keep your personal problems out of this. It's his personality, alright? He cares way more than anyone would." She took the Doctor's arm and led him away.

"Renée, you didn't have to do that," the Doctor said behind her, though he was smiling a bit for her defense.

Renata came to a stop outside the sitting room and turned to face him. "Let's get one thing straight, Doctor. I am a terribly difficult person but you are...wonderful, with all of your stupid grins and excitement, and I will not let anyone insult you about it. Not even Agatha Christie."

It was moments like these that truly warmed the Doctor's hearts. He knew Renata was more than what she thought of herself - that 'terribly difficult' person - and he knew that it was hard for her to express what she truly felt. So, for her to have these small moments of honesty with him...made him feel a little special. When she complimented him like this, he felt a warmth on his face that he couldn't get rid of.

He smiled at her so earnestly, so long, that it made Renata blush. She wanted to urge him to say something but...she'd lost her voice for a second. And it seemed like he had to. So, he did what he wanted to. He swooped down and kissed her cheek. She was stunned but at least she could still blink.

"Let's go interrogate some suspects," he smiled softly and took her by the hand.

"R-right…" was all Renata could say at the moment.

~ 0 ~

Reverend Golightly was first on the list to interrogate. They had given him a chair in the room, facing the Doctor, Renata and Agatha.

"Now then, Reverend… Where were you at a quarter past four?" asked the Doctor.

"Let me think," Golightly said, his gaze lowering a bit. "Why yes, I remember. I was unpacking in my room."

"Oh, so no alibi then?" Renata folded her arms. It was the easy way out. "Because you were alone."

"With the Lord, one is never truly alone."

Renata had to to her eyes. She wasn't a very firm believer anymore - that had died a very long time ago. "Next!"

Roger was second but like Golightly, she had an uncorroborated alibi. "I was taking a constitutional in the fields behind the house. Just taking a stroll, that's all."

"Alone?" Agatha inquired.

"Oh yes, all alone. Totally alone!"

Renata pulled the Doctor a bit away to whisper, "You know he's lying, right?"

"Mhm. But it's not his fault he can't openly say he was taking a walk with Davenport, can he?"

"Guess not," Renata agreed and cut him loose. As of now, he was the only one out of the suspect list.

Robina Redmond was the next suspect. But unlike her predecessors, she seemed more irritated that she was being questioned in the first place. "I went to the toilet when I arrived, and then, um, I was preparing myself. Positively buzzing with excitement about the party and the super fun of meeting Lady Eddy."

"And we've only got your word for it," the Doctor was weary of the theme going on.

Robina smirked. "That's your problem, not mine."

"It is when the threat is going to jail or being murdered," Renata's words did fade that smirk quicker than Robina had planned. "So go on then. Next!"

When Hugh came next, Renata had half a mind to tell the Doctor the man couldn't be the murderer. The professor had been far too tall for someone in a wheelchair to knock him out against the head. It just wasn't logical. Still, she let the interrogation go on but wasn't surprised when another uncorroborated alibi was given.

Lady Eddison was no better either.

"I was sitting in the blue room taking my afternoon tea. It's a ritual of mine. I needed to gather strength for the duty of hostess. I then proceeded to the lawn where I met…you, Doctor and I said "And who might you be and what are you doing here?" and you said, "I'm the Doctor-"

"Yes, yes. You can stop now. I was there for that bit!" the Doctor reminded.

After everyone had been questioned, the trio stayed in the sitting room to go over what they had...which was nothing.

"None of them have alibis which means anyone could've done it," Renata sunk into the chair the suspects had been in.

"That means we must look for a motive in order to identify the murderer," Agatha said.

"Use the little grey cells," Renata said in a sudden Belgian accent. The Doctor stopped to give her an amused look. This might just be _her_ trip after all.

"Oh yes, little grey cells. Good old Poirot," he chuckled. "Y''know, I've been to Belgium."

"Course you've been," Renata straightened in her chair when he stopped by her.

"I was deep in the Ardennes trying to find Charlemagne…" he started to explain. Renata watched him fondly, not having the heart to stop him when he looked so happy sharing his trip. "He'd been kidnapped by an insane computer. It took me days to find him but-"

Agatha had no problem ending the memory. "Doctor! Doctor!"

The Time Lord blinked and looked at Agatha to see her more amused than anything else. "Sorry." He checked for Renata's expression but she seemed just as amused as Agatha was.

"Charlemagne lived centuries ago," remarked Agatha after a moment.

"I've got a good memory!"

"For such an experienced detective, you missed a big clue."

"What, that bit of paper you nicked out of the fireplace?" Renata surprised the author. "Yeah, I used to work with all sorts of rascals. One human-" The Doctor cleared his throat. "I mean one author, is not going to doop me," Renata quickly amended. She _needed_ to start learning how to make herself sound more...human. Calling people 'human' was the way to expose herself. Plus, it was rude.

Agatha took out the scrap of paper and walked up to show it to them. "This is all that was left."

The Doctor studied the bit as best as he could, but he wasn't getting a lot. "What's that first letter? N or M?"

"It's an M, clearly," Renata squinted her eyes. "I think the word is maiden."

"Maiden!" the Doctor exclaimed a bit too loud that it startled the women. "What does that mean?" he asked in a whisper.

Agatha sighed and lowered the paper. "We're still no further forward. Our nemesis remains at large. Unless Miss Noble and Miss Gonzalez have found something."

~0~

"Hey, Donna, can I ask you something?" Gabby made the question just as Donna found a locked bedroom door.

"Uh, now?" Donna briefly glanced at Gabby. The door was seriously locked!

"It's important. I haven't been wanting to say anything but I also noticed that Renata and the Doctor seem really close lately-" Gabby actually flinched when Donna snorted. It was a very hard snort.

"Close? That doesn't begin to cut it!"

"Yeah, I know," sighed Gabby and caught Donna's attention.

She stopped trying to open the door - for the moment - and turned to Gabby. "Why do you say it like that? Don't tell me _you_ suddenly have feelings-"

"Ah! No!" Gabby exclaimed and shuddered, making Donna laugh. "I don't even want to hear how that sense was going to finish! It's just...no!"

"Just had to make sure! So if that's not the problem, what is it?"

"I've been working with the Doctor on something that he's made for Renata and while we've been working... I've started to notice the way he talks about her...looks at her…"

"Right, so we're on the same page! Why are we on this again?"

Gabby sighed. "Because I know something that the Doctor should know about but Renata has forbidden me from saying anything."

"What is it?" Donna crossed her arms.

"I just said that I couldn't say anything."

"But you're obviously worried."

"I am," Gabby nodded. "It's concerning because I've come to love Renata and...she...she's in danger."

Donna blinked. "How do you mean?"

Gabby knew for a fact that the Doctor and Renata decided to keep Renata's 'infection' a secret from them. Gabby herself wasn't supposed to know but she'd eavesdropped. Still, she didn't tell either that she knew. It just wouldn't help anyone, but it wasn't. It wasn't helping Gabby that only _she_ knew what that Ood told Renata a while ago. It was driving her mad that Renata was keeping it a secret from the Doctor, especially when he was looking after her because of the infection he knew about. If he knew about the Ood's prediction, he would try to keep Renata safe at all costs! And maybe that's what Renata needed.

"Gabby?" Donna asked again, now truly noticing the struggle Gabby was in. "Look, I won't say anything if that's what you're worried about. I'll keep your secret. You can get it off your chest with at least one person, right?"

Gabby could do with that, she could _really_ do with that. "Back at Zhe's place, Renata and I were exposed to...alien energy? That Block transfer thing and then...and then I don't know if that's the proper term for it but that's when an Ood we learned that Renata could possibly die."

Donna tilted her head, very much interested now. She hadn't heard anything of this - she was sure the Doctor hadn't either. "Hold on, what did this thing say?"

"It just said her song might end sooner and that...that means death. I know it does. I _know_ songs," Gabby shuddered. She couldn't fathom the idea of Renata ever dying.

"Well, the Doctor said when Time Lords die they don't actually die they-they do this sort of body changing thing," Donna tried explaining it as best as she could but even then, Gabby didn't want to hear it.

"She can't die Donna," she whispered. "I'm trying my best to keep an eye out for anything strange."

"Well, maybe we can do it together now. And we can maybe even figure out a way to make Ren talk about that nasty prediction."

"God I hope so," Gabby exhaled deeply. "I've tried talking to Renata about it. I tried convincing her that she should say something to the Doctor - get his help, you know? Who better to heal her than the Doctor, right?" she nervously smiled. "But she hasn't. And she's going to get really hurt if she keeps it a secret. And what worries me too is that, well, like you said, she and the Doctor are getting really close and if something bad does happen to Renata…"

"He'll be heartbroken," Donna finished for her with a saddened smile. "Or heartsbroken, in his case." Gabby nodded. "That's terrible!"

"I know! No matter how hard I tried she won't listen to me! The only reason I'm telling you this right now is because I realized that the Doctor is falling for her, and she for him. It's a guaranteed heartbreak and I don't want to see either of them get hurt, not when it can be avoided."

"We'll figure something out," Donna said determinedly. Like Gabby, she wanted both their alien friends to be happy and very much safe. She had come to learn how Renata operated and it was an annoying self-sacrifice theme that the Doctor often did. They truly were made for each other.

~0~

Renata had found a mirror hanging on the wall in the hallway. She stopped momentarily and faced her reflection. Part of her wanted to laugh at herself because she never pictured herself standing there, much less travelling with the Doctor and two humans.

"If they could see me now," she whispered. Her hand reached to touch the mirror but just as she did, a golden wasp of energy emanated from her hand. She drew her hand back with a gasp and quickly examined it. She looked up at her reflection again and found the same energy was rising from her head, forming what looked like...golden butterflies?

There was a queasiness in her stomach, growing more as the energy continued to drift from her body. _What the hell is happening to me?_ she gulped.

"DOCTOR! RENATA!" Donna's shrill scream pulled Renata away from the mirror. At the same time, the golden energy disappeared but Renata didn't notice as she ran for the second floor.

She, naturally, arrived first at the scene and came to a skidded stop outside the bedroom door that had been previously locked. "What!? What is a? Who's hurt?"

"There is a giant…wasp!" Gabby cried.

Renata stopped and gave the two women a strange look. Behind her, the Doctor and Agatha had arrived.

"What do you mean there's a wasp? We have seen wasps before right?" Renata's expression was a bit condescending and totally not needed right now.

"We mean a wasp that's giant!" Donna tried to explain but it wasn't much better.

"It's only a silly little insect," Agatha remarked and Renata agreed with a nod.

Donna was the one to stop now. She glared at Agatha and Renata. "When I say "giant", I don't mean big, I mean flippin' enormous! Look at its sting!" She stepped to the side and pointed a finger at the huge stinger stuck through the door.

Renata gasped in horror, but the Doctor was eager to examine the thing. He flung the door open and rushed into the room. There was nothing except the open window. "It's gone! Buzzed off!"

"But that's fascinating," Agatha was more focused on the huge stinger left behind. She was about to touch it when Renata yanked her back. The poor author stumbled back from the force.

"Whoa there! I'm pretty sure touching an alien Stinger isn't the best idea."

"Alien?"

"You were bound to know anytime soon," Renata left her to go check on Gabby. "Are you alright?"

Gabby nodded but there was still a trace of fear left in her face. "It was...huge!"

"Giant wasp…" the Doctor had taken out another vial to collect a sample of the stinger. "Well, there are tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms but…none in this galactic vector."

"I think I understood some of those words. Enough to know that you're completely potty!" Agatha exclaimed.

"Lost its sting, though. That makes it defenseless," Donna to tried to be optimistic about their chances of capturing it.

The Doctor all but scoffed. "A creature this size? Gotta be able to grow a new one."

"Uh, can we return to sanity?" Agatha almost waved your hands to get the attention back. "There are no such things as giant wasps."

"Which begs the question of what is that?" Renata made a gesture at the stinger on the door.

"And what's it doing here?" added the Doctor.

Their moment of thought was cut short when they heard yet another shrill scream, this time belonging to the housekeeper. Miss Chandrakala was found just outside the house with a gargoyle over her chest.

"The poor, little...child…" the woman said her last words in a strain before dying.

"Who pushed that gargoyle off the roof!?" Gabby looked around until Donna shook her arm to get her attention.

"Th-that!"

The 'huge wasp' was back and buzzing threateningly at them.

"Let's go!" the Doctor led the chase back into the house in hopes of capturing the wasp.

"Well this is certainly new!" Donna exclaimed as they headed up the stairs. "There's a monster and we're chasing it!"

"Can't be a monster. It's a trick!" Agatha argued on their way up. "They do it with mirrors!"

"Do you _see_ any mirrors around us!?" Renata stopped at the top of the staircase and gestured to the hallway where only portraits hung. Agatha didn't want to admit she was wrong but the fact there could be an alien wasp just...it had to be wrong.

"Oh, but you are wonderful!" the Doctor was gazing at the large wasp with a huge grin on his face.

"Doctor - it's a _wasp_!" Gabby reminded him and as if the wasp wanted to help prove her point, it raced towards them with its stinger first. They all ducked but the wasp swiftly turned around to do the same thing again.

"Oi! Flyboy!" Donna called to it and raised her magnifying glass up in the air. It didn't do anything and so the wasp flew away.

"Don't let it get away!" the Doctor was the first to run after it again. "Before it reverts to human form!"

They followed the wasp down the hallway and made a turn into a new one, only to find it had disappeared into one of the guests' bedrooms.

"Where are you!?" the Doctor demanded. "Show yourself!"

All the doors in the hallway opened up to reveal each of the guests looking mighty confused at the commotion.

"Well," Renata folded her arms. "That's just cheating. And unfair."

~ 0 ~

Lady Eddison wept for Miss Chandrakala in the sitting room. Everyone else was upset but no one more than her. "My faithful companion! This is terrible!"

"Excuse me, my lady," Davenport stopped behind her chair. "She was on her way to tell you something."

"She never found me. She had an appointment with death instead."

"You mean murder," whispered Renata. The gargoyle had been planted on the rooftop and it wouldn't have fallen if the wasp hadn't pushed it over. And the wasp had been exact in its calculations to push it just at the right time. It was a cold murderer indeed.

"She said, "the poor little child". Does that mean anything to anyone?" the Doctor studied the reactions of the guests to see if anyone led on about the phrase, but no one did anything suspicious.

"No children in this house for years," Hugh remarked then shaped his son a glance. "Highly unlikely there will be."

"Mrs Christie, you must have twigged something. You've written simply the best detective stories," Lady Eddison shifted in her chair to face Agatha, but the author seemed at a loss for words.

"Tell us…what would Poirot do?" asked the reverend.

"Heaven's sake! Cards on the table, woman!" Hugh unexpectedly slammed his fist against his armrest. "You should be helping us!"

"Well shouting at her won't make anything better," Renata rose from her seat. "And she's an author who writes about this stuff - it doesn't actually mean she's a detective." She then added in a much lower tone so that no one would hear her, "And neither are we."

"But surely she can crack it!" Robina made a gesture at the author who only kept shaking her head. "These events, they're exactly like one of your plots!"

"But what? I've no answers. None!" Agatha got up from her seat. "I'm sorry, all of you, I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, it's the Doctor, not me." She shook her head again and left in a hurry.

~ 0 ~

Renata sat by herself in the sitting room later while the Doctor returned to the TARDIS to examine the residue he'd found earlier. Donna had gone after Agatha in hopes of cheering the author up and Gabby…

Well, she didn't really know where Gabby was. Right now, Renata's attention was on her hands again. She couldn't get the image of the energy coming out of her hands...her head...her body.

"I don't understand," she whispered as she turned her palms over and over. Her skin was normal - she _felt_ normal. _Could it be what the Ood was talking about?_ Renata gulped. She hoped not. But, if it wasn't, then _what_ was happening?

"Are you alright, Ren?" Gabby's voice - though soft - startled Renata. Her hands dropped to her lap when Gabby came into the room. "You're looking pale!" Gabby noticed and quickly rushed up to Renata. "Are you getting sick?"

"No, no, I...it's just been a long day," Renata's warm smile was not going to fool Gabby.

"No, this is what I was afraid of - it's what the Ood said back at Zhe's gallery. Renata, what if this is how it starts?"

"What starts?" Renata repeated in a low chuckle.

Gabby wasn't going to let her downplay the situation. "Renata, why don't we go talk with the Doctor?"

"What? Absolutely not-"

"-just - just listen to me!" Gabby practically begged. "I'm so tired of keeping this a secret! Something bad is going to happen and _you-_ -" she pointed at Renata with a desperate ferocity that froze Renata, "-are going to get hurt! Beyond that - you could _die_!"

"Enough!" Renata hissed. "Now you need to calm down before someone, especially the Doctor, hears you!"

"Renata, I'm scared," Gabby admitted softly. "I'm scared for _you_."

"But you shouldn't be," Renata put on her best happy smile for the girl. She put her hands on Gabby's shoulder and gently squeezed them. "I'm fine. Nothing has happened."

"You're really pale," Gabby repeated and touched Renata's hands on her shoulders. "And you're...actually really warm…" her face scrunched in confusion. "Like...burning hot."

Renata immediately pulled her hands away and balled them into fists. "Well, that means I'm fine."

"No, it really doesn't!"

"Look, Gabby-"

"I've got something!" the Doctor strode in looking happy as ever. "It's a Vespiform - what's happened?" he caught onto the vibe of the room and much more, like Gabby, he noticed Renata's new shade of skin color.

"I think Renata is getting sick," Gabby was hesitant to say in the beginning but if she didn't give at least a bit of a clue, then Renata could possibly be a goner. And it was worth all the death glares Renata had to give.

"What?" the Doctor frowned. He forgot about everything else for a second as he walked up to Renata. He touched her face - an action that made her feel even warmer - and realized what Gabby meant. "You're burning hot. Are you running a fever?"

"Don't be silly, I don't get fevers - _we_ don't get fevers," Renata swatted his hand away from her. "Least the human kind."

"Still, that's an unusual amount of heat you're exhibiting." The Doctor gingerly sat her down in the nearest seat.

"You two are making a big deal out of nothing," Renata felt her stomach churn and it wasn't the heat she was feeling. She was overly nervous about being caught and that thought alone was scary.

"Gabby, make sure they bring us some drinks. Renata might benefit from one," the Doctor suggested. Gabby was all over it and ran out of the room.

"Honestly, Doctor," Renata swayed her head, trying to laugh things off.

"Don't belittle our concern, Renata. Now as soon as we're done here, I'm going to run new tests on you-"

"-but-"

"-there is no room for discussion about this!"

"Doctor, look what we found!" Donna came rushing into the room holding a small tool box in her hands.

Despite the current matter, the Doctor took the box from her to examine it. They found an array of tools inside. "Ooh…someone came tooled up…the sort of stuff a thief would use," he remarked.

"The Unicorn—he's here!" Agatha gasped.

"The Unicorn and the wasp," the Doctor said with a sigh. Of course.

"I've got the drinks," Gabby returned a short moment later with a tray in hand. "Davenport says any of them will definitely help Renata gain some color."

"What? What's wrong with, Ren?" Donna studied the Time Lady and realized she'd been unusually quiet.

"I don't need a drink," Renata muttered but the Doctor had already taken one glass off the tray and was holding it to her. "Doctor…"

"One glass will not harm you. Please take it."

"Please Renata?" Gabby whispered hopefully.

Renata sighed and took the glass from him. She took a sip and did admit to herself that it was rather tasty.

"So, um, did you figure out that science stuff?" Donna asked but she kept a lingering gaze on Renata.

"Hm, Vespiform sting. Vespiforms have got hives in the Silifax Galaxy," the Doctor answered but he kept a close eye on Renata as well.

"Again you talk like Edward Lear," Agatha said, sounding more resigned that she would never fully understand him.

"For some reason, this one's behaving like a character in one of your books," he said.

"Come on, Agatha," Donna sat beside the author. "What would Miss Marple do? She'd've overheard something vital by now because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady."

"Clever idea," Agatha admitted. "Miss Marple—who writes those?"

Donna made a face and looked at the Doctor. "I've done it again, haven't I?" he silent nodded. "Well, copyright it: Donna Noble. Add it to the list."

"Renata…?" Gabby noticed that Renata had gone even _paler_ and she thought it was impossible.

Renata opened her mouth but no words came out; all she managed were croaks. Something was closing her throat and it was _burning_.

"Doctor! Something's wrong!" Gabby turned to the man but he was already running up to them.

"Renée! Ren! What's-"

Renata started shaking her head and swatting his hands away. She made a flapping gesture to her drink she'd placed on the table next to her chair. "Poi….p...poison!"

"How could she be poisoned!?" Donna asked when the Doctor took Renata's glass and sniffed it. "Gabby got her the drink!"

Fearing for a second that she could be blamed, Gabby quickly exclaimed, "They served me the drinks!"

"This is cyanide!" the Doctor almost threw the glass at the wall out of anger. "How could this have happened!?"

"I-I don't know! I'm sorry!" Gabby was scared out of her mind, but the Doctor wasn't paying any attention to her.

"Kitchen - NOW!" he grabbed Renata's hand and yanked out of her chair and out of the room.

"What are you going to do!?" Donna ran after him with Gabby and Agatha in tow.

Renata breathed heavily - and strained - by the time they reached the kitchen. What's more was that she could feel that same warmth from before spreading over her body again. The Doctor leaned her against the isle and went around in search for something, she wasn't listening. Her hands were _glowing_ again! She quickly hid them behind her back.

"Ginger beer! Where is it!?"

"I beg your pardon?" Davenport was nearly outraged that the Doctor was chucking things around the kitchen.

"I need ginger beer - where is it!?" the Doctor was going crazy in search of the damn ingredient. His entire body was on a new speed. He was going from one place to the other, dashing like a blur. His hearts were thumping against his chest, his mind screaming to get the detox _fast_. Renata was practically choking, he _needed_ to do something!

"The gentleman's gone mad!" one of the waitresses exclaimed.

"Oh shut up and just help him!" Donna snapped.

Eventually, the Doctor had found the ginger beer and ran back to Renata. Gabby was helping the Time Lady stay on her feet but she could feel how badly Renata was shaking - how long could she last this way?

"Drink it now!" he practically ordered and despite it being weird, Renata took the drink and drowned it as fast as she could.

"I'm an expert in poisons, Doctor. It's fatal!" Agatha tried to stop him but he shoved her out of the way. Though she was completely stunned, for the man hadn't even noticed his rudeness, she still insisted on her perspective of reality. "There's no cure!"

"Over my dead body!" he snapped. "Renata, we can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal. Protein! I need protein!"

Renata seemed out of it - as was understandable - but she checked her palms again and saw the glow was fading. Well, at least if she died, she wouldn't be caught with a strange gold glow...unless it was regeneration energy? Could that be it? _What if the prediction was a silent killer one?_ She never considered that one.

"Walnuts!" Donna had found a bag of them and tossed it over to the Doctor.

"Renata, eat!" he then handed a good amount to Renata who very poorly stuffed them into her mouth. She chewed as fast as she could.

"Now I need something salty!"

"There's a bag of salt over there!" Gabby ran to the other counter where she'd seen the plastic bag.

"No, that's too salty!"

"But you said you needed salt!"

The Doctor groaned. "Not _that_ salty!

"What about this?" Agatha tried her hand at helping and showed him a jar of anchovies. If he was going to prove this was actually curable then she wanted to see it firsthand.

"Yes, now you're getting it!" the Doctor took the jar and pulled the lid off.

"I don't like anchovies!" Renata managed to say with a more open throat.

"And I don't like you dying, so take it!"

Renata frowned like a child but she took a lot of anchovies and chewed them as fast as she could to get rid of the taste in her mouth.

"What else do we need now?" Gabby was fast to ask.

The Doctor had stopped all of a sudden. "...a shock."

"Well, what kind? Like...scary!?" Gabby wondered what the hell they could use from the kitchen to scare Renata. "Like Halloween scary!?"

"-mallowveen!?" Renata repeated as she forced down the terrible anchovies down her throat.

Gabby shrugged. It was all she had!

"Not that type of shock," the Doctor took in a deep breath as he hurried back to Renata. "Now I'm very sorry about this Renée but I'd do anything to keep you alive, so…"

Renata barely made a face when he grabbed both sides of her face and kissed her. Of course it would be a _shock_ \- perhaps the shock of her lifetime. The Doctor held her tightly, kissing her as if their lives depended on it. _Hers_ did. And yet, despite the fierceness that drove him, the kiss felt very familiar. He wasn't sure if it was because of their time in 1913 with the Family, but then...why else could this be familiar?

Renata was the one to eventually break the kiss by pushing him away, but in doing so she felt an overwhelming power to gag (and it was _not_ from the kiss). She threw her head back and exhaled a black smoke that left her stomach churning afterwards.

"Detox," the Doctor breathed in relief. He finally felt his hearts begin to lose the speed it gained in the last few minutes.

"Renata, thank God!" Gabby made a move towards her but Renata wagged a finger at her and then the others.

"Don't...I don't want anyone near me," she raised her hands, indicating her need to be entirely left alone. There was a foul taste in her mouth from everything the Doctor fed her and if she wasn't careful, she might just throw up on the spot.

The Doctor, however, took it the wrong way. "Renée, I didn't mean-" even the Doctor was included in her demand.

"Don't," she warned in a harder tone. His hearts stopped momentarily. She was mad at him. She shook her head and made her way out of the kitchen, albeit a bit wobbly.

The Doctor couldn't let himself be consumed by his concern for her reaction. He would much rather focus on _where_ that poison came from. He turned to the staff, ignoring their stunned reactions, and glared at each and every one of them. " _Who_ is responsible for this?" None of them had anything to say, which only infuriated the Doctor even more. "I said _who_ did this!?" he stormed towards them and had a few of them, including Davenport, back away.

"We-we don't know! None of us did anything!" the younger waiter said.

"That poison came from somewhere!"

"She-" Davenport pointed a finger at Gabby, making the girl's eyes widen, "-brought the drinks! How do you know it wasn't her!?"

"Because it wasn't!" Gabby frowned. "Why would I poison my own friend!?"

"Doctor, calm down," Donna went up to the man and turned him away from the scared staff. "It was obviously the wasp alien."

"But why would it try to poison Renata?" Gabby asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"Because the glass wasn't meant for her," the Doctor realized very soon. "It was for me. There were three glasses on that tray...and I gave Renata the wrong one. It's my fault."

"No, Doctor, it's not," Donna said very slowly before he made other assumptions. "It's the wasp's fault. So we better catch him or her before it strikes again."

The Doctor nodded, but it didn't mean he was content. Renata would surely hate him now for real.

~ 0 ~

Renata had ample time to calm herself down before coming to dinner. She had not seen the golden energy again and she was taking that as a huge win - the last thing she needed was for any human to see her like that, much less the Doctor. And speaking of the Doctor...her face still warmed every time she thought about him.

 _That's what happens when you kiss him_ , she berated herself. It was still the same old story. One kiss from him and she melted. It took her forever to get over him on Gallifrey - and she honestly didn't do a very good job there - and then 1913 came around to knock her back down...and now this moment. She still loved him. A lot. And no matter what incarnation she was in, or he was in, each kiss still felt like the first one they shared when they were young.

When dinner time came around, Renata made the biggest effort to push all those feelings away. She came into the dining room and found mostly everyone was already there. As soon as he saw her, the Doctor got up from his seat and hurried around the table to meet her.

"Renée, I'm so sorry-" he began to apologize when Renata raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm not mad at you, silly," she smiled kindly at him and it was, admittedly, a relieving sight for him. "You saved me from a regeneration."

"You just looked upset…"

"Because I'd been poisoned. I'm not mad at _you_ , Doctor. Thank you for saving me," she said honestly. "I do mean it."

The Doctor nodded, albeit nervously, but it was something to start with. He offered her his arm again and she gladly took it. They returned to the table and sat together. A short while later, dinner was served.

"A terrible day for all of us. The professor struck down, Miss Chandrakala cruelly taken from us, and yet, we still take dinner," the Doctor played with the soup in front of him.

"We are British, Doctor. What else must we do?" Lady Eddison inquired as if it was obvious this was what they had to do.

" _Uh_ , maybe _not_ act as if everything is alright?" Renata's heavy sourness was uncharacteristic but rightly appropriate. "Somebody here-" she picked up her knife and used it to point at each guest, "-decided to poison me. Although after great thought, I realize that I wasn't the intended victim. It was my friend, the Doctor, which makes me-" she suddenly stabbed her knife into the table, startling the others, "-madder."

"She's really good when she's scary mad," Gabby whispered to Donna on the side. The ginger silently agreed.

"Don't you worry, Renée," the Doctor gingerly uncurled her hand from the knife and set it down on the table. "I kind of got an idea from all this poison."

"And what would that be?" Golightly inquired.

"Well, poison," the Doctor smiled in an eerie manner. It made everyone stop eating. "Drink up. I've laced the soup with pepper."

"Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy," Hugh laughed and gladly ate from his soup, proving once again that he was the only real innocent one amongst the group.

"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine. Traditionally used as an insecticide," the Doctor explained just before thunder cracked behind them.

"Fitting," Renata watched as each guest stared at their soups in horror. "Anybody want seconds?"

Thunder cracked again and cut the lights. One of the windows behind them flung open and brought in a gust of wind that took out the lingering candles.

"What the deuce is that!?" Hugh demanded as a noise from a distance crept up.

"It's a buzzing noise…" Gabby trailed off when they realized what it was.

"No…no, it can't be!" Lady Eddison suddenly cried, something that Renata took special note of.

"Show yourself, demon!" ordered Agatha who rose from her seat.

"Nobody move!" the Doctor warned as the others started to get up. "Stay where you are!"

The Vespiform - the wasp - finally revealed its form to the room.

"About that 'stay where you are' thing…" Donna began to backtrack with Gabby.

"Just _run_!" Renata shouted. She and the Doctor made a run in the opposite direction towards the doors, pulling Agatha with them.

They all met in the hallway but some of the guests were still inside.

"Well we know the butler didn't do it," Gabby thought to humor them since Greeves was with them, but it was a poor joke.

The Doctor grabbed a decorative sword on the wall and headed back for the dining room. But when he did, the lights were back on…

"My jewelry…the Firestone—it's gone!" Lady Eddison cried when she realized her prized jewel wasn't around her neck anymore. "Stolen!"

But the most horrific part came when they realized that Roger had been stabbed in the back.

~ 0 ~

"This is getting far too dangerous," Renata led the way back into the sitting room. Donna came in behind her and went for the nearest seat. "I think you, Donna, and Gabby, need to go back to the TARDIS."

"I think not!" Gabby immediately refused. "You're the one who was poisoned. If anything, you should go rest and let us figure this out."

"I don't think so," Renata shook her head.

Agatha let them figure that one out while she went to Donna's seat. "Did you inquire about the necklace?"

"Lady Eddison brought it back from India. It's worth thousands."

"Not much there, then," sighed Agatha. "Doctor?" she turned to the man by the fireplace. He'd been very pensive since they'd come in and hadn't said anything since then.

"This thing can sting, it can fly… It could wipe us all out in seconds—why is it playing this game?"

"Every murder is essentially the same—they are committed because somebody wants something."

"Well what would a Vespiform want from humans?" Renata made a gesture to the ones in the room.

"Oh please stop," Agatha told her. "The murderer is as human as you or I."

"UH Uh," Renata cocked her head to the side, about to retort when the Doctor gasped.

"You're right! I've been so caught up with giant wasps, I've forgotten!" he moved around fast until he stood in front of Agatha. "You're the expert."

Agatha thought otherwise. "Look, I told you. I'm just a…purveyor of nonsense."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, 'cause plenty of people write detective stories, but yours are the best. And why?" the Doctor checked around for anyone with an answer.

"Because she understands," Renata was the one to answer. "I mean...it's why I loved your books," she admitted with a small smile. "You are the only author that I can identify with. You've lived…you've fought…you've had your heart broken. I've had that too. And you know about people—their passions, their hope and despair and anger, all of those. You are the best. If anyone can solve this, it's you."

Agatha was touched but there were still many things to think about. Maybe it's what she needed though: to really _think_. Up until now, she didn't want to think that aliens were real and that could be what was hindering her from seeing the truth.

~ 0 ~

An hour later, all the guests were brought into the sitting room. Agatha hadn't said anything but there was a new determination in her face that no one was going to question.

"I've called you here on this endless night because we have a murderer in our midst," the Doctor stood at the fireplace, at the head of the group, "And when it comes to detection, there's none finer… Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Agatha Christie." He moved to take a seat next to Renata. He hadn't meant to but his hand brushed her arm and he felt the same burning heat again. He looked at her but she was none the wiser as she considered taking Donna up on her offer of a grape from her bowl.

Something was wrong there.

"This is a crooked house…a house of secrets," Agatha took the Doctor's place at the fireplace. "To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you…Miss Redmond."

Robina straightened in her seat, momentarily appearing nervous but she pushed away by putting on a flashy smile. "But I'm innocent, surely."

Agatha saw right through her. "You've never met these people and these people never met you. I think the real Robina Redmond never left London. You're impersonating her!"

Robina chuckled but her nervousness was back. "How silly." Her smile turned tight and as she spoke again, she did it through gritted teeth. "What proof do you have?"

"You said you'd been to the toilet…"

"Oh, I know this—if she was really posh, she'd say 'loo'!" Donna said in-between munches of grapes. Gabby laughed but she quickly covered her mouth.

"Earlier today, Miss Noble and I found this on the lawn right beneath your bathroom window." Agatha grabbed the tool box and walked up to Robina to hand it back to her. "You must have heard Miss Noble and Miss Gonzalez were searching the bedrooms and you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence.

"I've never seen that thing before in my life!"

"What's inside of that?" Lady Eddison inquired. Robina was refusing to take the box off Agatha's hand.

So, Agatha beat her to it. She opened the box for Robina. "The tools of your trade, Miss Redmond, or should I say…the Unicorn. You came to this house with one sole intention—to steal the Firestone!"

Robina cocked her head and stared at Agatha for a long minute until deciding to give it up. "Oh al right then. Ot's a fair cop!" she spoke in a Cockney accent. "Yes, I'm the bleedin' Unicorn!" she rose from her seat and sent each guest a sour smile. "Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it." She reached under her dress' strap and took out the Firestone. She chucked it towards the Doctor and rolled her eyes. "Go on then, ya nobs, arrest me. Sling me in jail."

"So...is she the murderer?" Gabby leaned closer to Donna's side as if that would do it for protection.

"Don't be so thick little girl," Robina snapped, completely ignoring Gabby's scowl. "I might be a thief but I ain't no killer."

"Quite," agreed Agatha who dropped the tool box into Robina's seat. "There are darker motives at work, and, in examining this household…we come to you…Colonel."

Hugh groaned. "Damn it, woman! You with your perspicacity! You've rumbled me!" He rose from his chair, stunning the others.

"You—you can walk? But why?" Lady Eddison rose as well and faced her husband.

"My darling, how else could I be certain of keeping you by my side?"

"I don't understand."

"You're still a beautiful woman, Clemency. Sooner or later, some chap will turn your head. I couldn't bear that. Staying in the chair was the only way I could be certain of keeping you."

"That's overly disgusting," Renata didn't hold back her thoughts. "And not to mention manipulative."

Hugh chose to ignore her comments and focused his anger on Agatha. "Confound it, Mrs Christie! How did you discover the truth?"

Agatha blinked away her shock to respond, "Um, actually, I had no idea. I was just going to say you were completely innocent."

Gabby laughed again, but this time Donna laughed with her.

"Not the time," the Doctor whisper-hissed at them but Renata decided it was very much the time.

"Serves him right," she said.

Agatha moved onto Lady Eddison and what she had to say was not good news for the woman. "You brought the Firestone back from India, did you not? Before you met the Colonel. You came home with malaria and confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been locked ever since, which I rather think means—"

Lady Eddison frowned. "Stop, please!"

"I'm so sorry. But you had fallen pregnant in India…unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidante, a young maid, later to become housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala."

"Clemency! Is this true?" Hugh looked at his wife in shock.

Lady Eddison wouldn't look at anyone but she wouldn't deny it. "My poor baby. I had to give him away. Oh, the shame of it."

"You gave your own child away because you were ashamed?" Renata felt a new wave of disgust for the guests. "You're perfectly made for each other," she said to the pair.

"I had no choice. Imagine the scandal, the family name. I'm British—I carry on!"

"Oh my God…" Renata glanced at the Doctor, "We need to get the hell out of here."

The Doctor patted her hand - once again feeling the insane warmth of her skin - and promised her they would leave very soon. They just needed to finish up here. "The pregnancy was not an ordinary one, was it?"

Lady Eddison only spared him a look because she was shocked that he'd figured it out. "How can you know that?"

"Excuse me, Agatha, this is my territory," he got up from his seat to take place at the fireplace again. "But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said, "It can't be". Why did you say that?"

"You'd never believe it…"

"Try me."

"It was forty years ago. In the heat of Delhi one night. I was alone and that's when I saw it—a dazzling light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house—Christopher, the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire and I held nothing back. And in return, he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He made himself human to learn about us. This was his true shape. I loved him so much it didn't matter. But he was stolen from me. 1885, the year of the Great Monsoon. The River Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood. But Christopher left me a parting gift—a jewel like no other. I wore it always. Part of me never forgot. I keep it close. Always."

"Just like a man—flashes his family jewels and you end up with a bun in the oven," Robina carelessly remarked and didn't even notice the glare Lady Eddison sent her way.

"A "poor little child". Forty years ago, Miss Chandrakala took that newborn babe to an orphanage. But Prof Peach worked it out," Agatha said. "He found the birth certificate."

"Oh, that's "maiden"—maiden name!" Donna realized. "So she killed him."

"I did not!" Lady Eddison angrily said.

"Miss Chandrakala feared that the professor had unearthed your secret. She was coming to warn you," Agatha told the woman, but Donna had something else to say.

"So she killed her!"

"I said no!"

"Lady Eddison is innocent. Because at this point… Doctor?"

"Thank you," the Doctor nodded. "Because at this point when we consider the lies and secrets and the key to these events, then we have to consider…it was you, Donna Noble…"

"What?" Donna blinked and nearly dropped her bowl of grapes if Gabby hadn't dove to catch it. "Who did I kill?"

"Nobody, he's just being dramatic," Renata assured the woman.

"No, but you said it all along, the vital clue—that this whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery. Which means…it was you, Agatha Christie!"

Agatha blinked when the finger was pointed her way. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"So she killed them?"

"Donna, it might be better if you just wait," Renata suggested.

"Agatha, you wrote those brilliant, clever books," the Doctor went on. "And who's her greatest admirer? The moving finger points…at you, Lady Eddison."

"Leave me alone!" cried the woman.

"Oh my goodness," Renata sighed. "Doctor, get on with it!"

"Last Thursday night, what were you doing?"

Lady Eddison still glared at the Doctor for his constant push but she did answer a few minutes later. "I...was in the library. I was reading my favorite Agatha Christie thinking about her plots, and how clever she must be. But how is that relevant?"

The Doctor bobbed his head to the side. "Just think—what happened Thursday night?" he set his eyes on Golightly and the man had the audacity to be surprised.

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be," the Doctor frowned. "You said on the lawn this afternoon, last Thursday, those boys broke into your church."

"That's correct…they did. I discovered the two of them—thieves in the night. I was most perturbed. But I apprehended them."

"Really? A man of God against two strong lads? A man in his forties? Or, should I say, forty years old…exactly."

Lady Eddison was shocked all over again. "Oh my God!"

"Lady Eddison, your child—how old would he be now?"

"Forty. He's…forty."

"Your child has come home."

Golightly laughed at them all. "Ha! This is poppycock!"

"Oh? You said you were taught by the Christian fathers, meaning, raised in an orphanage," the Doctor reminded him. "You found those thieves, Reverend, and you got angry. A proper, deep anger for the first time in your life and it broke the genetic code. You changed. You realized your inheritance. After all these years…you knew who you were. Oh, then it all kicks off 'cause this…" he took the Firestone from Lady Eddison and held it in the air, "-isn't just a jewel—it's a Vespiform telepathic recorder. It's part of you—your brain, your very essence. And when you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind. And, at the same time,

it absorbed the works of Agatha Christie directly from Lady Eddison. It all became part of you. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You killed in this pattern because that's what you think the world is. Turns out we are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Dame Agatha."

"Huh, what do you know, it really was one of her stories," Renata nodded in her realization.

"Dame?" Agatha repeated in confusion.

"Oh sorry, not yet," the Doctor shared an amused smirk with Donna. It was harder than he thought.

"So...it was the Reverend, then?" asked Gabby. "He killed them?"

"Yes."

Golightly stood up from his seat and shook his head. "Well, this has certainly been a most entertaining evening. Really, you can't believe any of this, surely, Lady Eddizzz—"

"Lady who, now?" called Renata. There was a smirk trying to start at the corner of her lips.

"Lady Eddizzzon…"

"Little bit of buzzing there, Vicar?" Renata leaned forwards, now letting her smirk fully show.

"Don't make me angry!"

"Don't make _you_ angry!?" Renata practically jumped out of her seat. "You murdered people and you poisoned me!"

"Damn it! You humanzzz!" Golightly practically stomped his foot. "Worshipping your tribal sky godzzz! I am so much more! That night, the universe exploded in my mind! I wanted to take what wazz mine. And you, Agatha Christie, with your railway station bookstall romancezzz… What'zzz to stop me killing you? What'zzz to stop me killing you all?" He started shaking violently until the Doctor figured out he was going to transform back into his true form.

"No more murder! If my imagination made you kill, then my imagination will find a way to stop you, foul creature!" Agatha had taken the Firestone and ran out of the room.

"Agatha, don't do that!" Renata sighed and rushed after her, prompting the others to do the same.

They came out of the house but lost Agatha for a few minutes. She showed up in her car, honking the horn to get the Wasp's attention. And it was just in time because the it burst through the front door.

"Agatha, come back!" Renata called but Agatha drove into the darkness.

"C'mon!" the Doctor led them towards another car for them to follow.

"What is she doing?" Gabby asked as they stopped by an empty car.

"She realized she can control it," Renata said, ushering her into the car. "She's going to try and stop him on her own. Humans!"

"Hey!" went Donna and Gabby.

The Doctor took the well and went after Agatha and the Vespiform as fast as he could.

"Now wait a minute, this is the night Agatha Christie loses her memory!" Donna remembered.

"Time is in flux, Donna! For all we know, this is the night Agatha Christie loses her life and history gets changed!" the Doctor said.

"Over my dead body!" Renata huffed.

They followed Agatha up to the lakeside where she was forced to stop. She'd gotten out of her car and held the Firestone in her hand.

"Here I am! The honey in the trap. Come to me, Vespiform!"

"She truly is controlling it," Gabby said once they stopped their own car and were able to get out.

"It's mind is based on her thought processes. They're linked," the Doctor explained.

"Quite so, Doctor. If I die, then this creature might die with me," Agatha held the Firestone high in the air.

"Don't hurt her! You're not meant to be like this. You've got the wrong template in your mind!" the Doctor called but the Vespiform was still coming towards them.

"It's not listening," Renata said in frustration.

Donna took a decision and ran up to Agatha, snatching the Firestone from her hand and throwing it into the lake. The Vespiform dove into the water to retrieve it but ended up drowning instead. "How do you kill a wasp? Drown it," Donna sighed. "Just like its father."

"Donna, that thing couldn't help itself," the Doctor shot the woman a look.

"Neither could I," Donna said quickly. She wasn't going to let it kill anyone else.

"Death comes as the end. And justice is served," Agatha said but she didn't really feel like they'd done much of the justice part. "Just one mystery left, Doctor. Who exactly are you?"

"I don't think you have the time to listen to that bit, Agatha," Renata cleared her throat and looked away before the Doctor could see her smile.

But suddenly, Agatha doubled over in pain. She groaned and nearly fell to the ground if the Doctor hadn't caught her. "Oh! It's the Firestone! It's part of the Vespiform's mind! It's dying and it's connected to Agatha!"

It was true. Agatha's body was glowing purple just like the Vespiform was in the lake. But just as it started, it stopped and Agatha fell unconscious.

"What just happened?" Gabby looked out into the lake and saw that the purple glow had also disappeared from the water.

"It let her go. Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to safe someone's life," the Doctor realized.

"Is she alright, though?" Donna neared closer to them, seeing Agatha wasn't even moving.

"Oh, the amnesia," Renata had gasped when she made her own realization. "This is how she loses her memories. The Vespiform...it wiped her mind of everything that happened. The wasp, the murders…"

"And us," Donna looked up from Agatha. "She'll forget about us."

Renata smiled sadly. "The only human author I liked...and she won't ever remember me. Of course."

~ 0 ~

"So what's going to happen to the others?" Gabby asked once the group was back in the TARDIS. "Lady Eddison, the colonel, and all the staff—what about them?"

"A shameful story. They'd never talk of it—too British," the Doctor said and watched how Renata practically fumed at the excuse. "While the Unicorn does a bunk back to London Town, she can never say she was there."

"But what happens to Agatha? Will she be okay?" asked Donna.

"Oh, great life! Met another man, married again. Saw the world. Wrote and wrote and wrote!"

"She never thought her books were any good, though. And she must have spent all those years wondering."

"Yeah but, I don't think she ever quite forgot." There was a knowing smile on the Doctor's face as he went around the console till he pulled a part of the floor like a lid. "Great mind like that, some of the details kept bleeding through. All the stuff her imagination could use. Like Miss Marple!"

"I should have made her sign a contract," sighed Donna.

"What's all that stuff in there?" Gabby peered over the Doctor's shoulder as he dug through dozens of objects under the floor.

"Souvenirs," Renata answered from the console, eyeing the open part of the floor with distaste. "Some of them - if not most of them - being completely dangerous."

The Doctor kept digging through the objects until he found what he was looking for: a copy of one of Agatha's books, Death in the Clouds. He showed it to Donna who quickly recognized the large wasp on the front cover.

"She did remember!"

"Bet that was a scare for the people who were at the party," Gabby chuckled as she took the book into her hands.

"Somewhere at the back of her mind, it all lingered," the Doctor said. "And that's not all. Look at the copyright page."

Gabby turned to the page and checked the publication. "Facsimile edition published in the year…5 billion!?" She and Donna shared the exact gaping mouths.

"People never stop reading them. She is he best-selling novelist of all time."

"Well earned," Renata said from her spot by the console.

"But she never knew," Donna sadly said.

"Well, no one knows how they're gonna be remembered. We can only hope for the best," the Doctor said, giving her a cheery smile. "Maybe that's what kept her writing. The same thing that keeps me travelling. Onwards?"

Donna playfully rolled her eyes. "Onwards."

~ 0 ~

Renata had been so close, _so_ close to escaping the Doctor's clutches...but he was too smart for her...and fast. He was really fast.

Keeping true to his word, he'd brought her right into the medbay to run those tests he'd mentioned earlier. Renata was scared out of her mind thinking what the results would say, and much more what the Doctor would do. What if she truly was dying already? Or worse, what if she wasn't dying but there was something freaky going on with her insides?

"This is really strange," the Doctor murmured as he read through the results on the computer screen. Renata looked up from her palms to see him thoroughly focused on whatever was on the screen. "The energy we talked about, the Bloxk Transfer Matrix from the Zhe's gallery is still there and so is the Osiran energy."

"Well...what's it doing exactly?" she curiously asked.

"Getting stronger by the looks of it," the Doctor glanced at her, his eyes scrutinizing her for any obvious sign of the merge he spoke about. "You're not expelling it.

Renata wondered if her body was struggling to expel the energy and that's why she was suddenly glowing golden. The Doctor tore his gaze away from the screen to see Renata's reaction. She was mighty good at keeping her expressions neutral. All she did was stare at the screen.

"I'm afraid it's going to get stronger and stronger until it starts...hurting you," the Doctor swallowed hard and turned the computer off. "This is energy that no one - not even us - should have. It's...it's…"

"Contamination," Renata said shakily. "I'm...toxic," she bit her lip as a sour chuckle slipped through. "Not surprising there."

"No, you're not. I'm going to find a way to get that energy out of you, I swear," the Doctor told her.

"Oh, I know you would," sighed Renata. She didn't want him overworking himself just for her. She didn't deserve that. "But listen, I'm okay right now. I'm good."

The Doctor knew by now that Renata wasn't the most open woman - she was used to hiding and that included her personality and feelings. He hadn't yet figured out how to get her to open up entirely, but he wouldn't give up.

"I'm tired, Doctor. I'd really like to go to bed now," Renata said after a moment of silence. She made to leave when he gently grabbed her arm.

"Can I take you somewhere first?" he asked. Renata raised an eyebrow at him, obviously confused with his question. "I, uh, I wanted to give you something. It'll be fast, I promise."

Renata couldn't see why not so she nodded and allowed him to lead her out of the room. He brought them back to the console room and landed them somewhere new, apparently.

When Renata poked her head out she saw it was still night time but they were somewhere in a garden, a beautiful large garden. She felt the light breeze with her flapper dress, but she didn't mind. After feeling like she was on fire, she could use a breeze. "Where are we?" she chuckled as she came out.

"Well, you did say you'd like to take a walk in a garden," the Doctor came out behind her.

"Right, well, I meant in the daytime," Renata took a few steps away from the TARDIS and looked around the place. It was so green and bright despite it being night time. "And, you know, with the others."

"I don't think we should bother Donna and Gabby right now," the Doctor said. "C'mon." He took her by the hand and led her down the cobblestone path.

"You haven't told me where we are, though" asked Renata. She spotted a bright red rose bush coming up and she couldn't help wonder who was in charge of the place - it was simply beautiful!

"It's part of a mediation facility. Welcomes all types of aliens who just want to...relax."

"Well I'd love this place!"

"I thought you would. After a day like the one we've had…"

Renata slowly came to a stop and turned to face him. "You're not still thinking that I'm upset with you over what happened, right? I get what you were doing."

"I just...I don't like putting you in danger, Renée. I know you can take care of yourself but...if I can prevent it then I will."

Renata softly smiled at him. "Oh my Doctor, you are far too kind for a woman like me."

" _You're_ too kind for a man like me." The Doctor sighed, making her smile fade.

"No," she said automatically. "And I will not discuss this any further. I don't want you to stop smiling because of me. It was an overall okay day," she said and because the Doctor knew she was just trying to cheer him up, he smiled at her again. "Got to visit the 20s again. Always a nice time period, if you know where to go."

"Hm, and just where was the past Renata during this time?" he curiously asked. "Speakeasies?"

Renata flushed with embarrassment. "Only a few-"

"Oh!" the Doctor's eyes widened with even more curiosity.

"Don't give me that look!" Renata laughed and let go of his hand to walk a bit ahead.

"Give me a break! It's hard picturing _you_ of all people dancing in a speakeasy!"

Renata refused to look at him while he tried to picture those images. It was embarrassing enough but at least they were doing well again. "Oh, stop it! It wasn't all about the speakeasies. I personally loved the authors and cultural shifts the period had."

The Doctor playfully rolled her eyes. Of course she would prefer to focus on the more classical features of the 20s. "Like what?"

"Well, like...oh, I personally liked F. Scott Fitzgerald's work that started coming out," Renata smiled. "All the quotes that came out of his work were amazing. He was a trouble author, as was his wife, but his quotes always had this clear truth in them."

"Like what?" the Doctor walked alongside her now that she'd slowed her pace down.

Renata hummed and crossed her arms, thinking of the many quotes that she was fond of. After a few seconds, she decided on one even if it was truthfully bittersweet. " _I love her and that's the beginning and end of everything..._ " She came to a slow stop and sighed lightly. "It's a sad line, you know? Love is beautiful but at the same time it can hurt you. And it has, on many occasions."

The Doctor could only silently agree. He'd been there himself of course. "And that's the line that spoke to you? Out of everything he ever wrote?"

Renata nodded. "Unfortunately."

It resonated with her because it was basically her story with the Doctor. The day she met him was the day everything began. She began to smile more, laugh more, be more spontaneous...she learned how to be a better version of herself who could have fun. It was the beginning of a wonderful, albeit rocky, story. He was such an impossible man even back then, making her 'think outside the box' and do the craziest of things. It was the beginning of her first and true love for someone. But at the same time, it was also the _end_ of things, of several things. It was the end of her sanity - he drove her crazy almost every day with his shenanigans - and the end of any possibility of her ever being to love someone else with the same intensity she loved the Doctor with.

The Doctor stared at her while she got lost in thoughts. He was sure that something terrible once happened to Renata that made her like this. He had zero idea what it could've been but he wished it hadn't happened because Renata deserved to be happy. She shouldn't feel like she needed to hide things from her friends. _He_ would never judge her, he just wished he could show her that, make her understand that he was right there.

 _Start with what you have_ , the little voice in his head scolded him. That's when he remembered the point of bringing Renata out in the first place. "Renée," he gently called to her so as to not scare her. She blinked out of her thoughts and listened to him. "I've, uh...I've been sort of working on something. Gabby helped with a few things, actually. I...I thought you might...you know..."

Renata followed and nodded at his hand gestures but he wasn't making much sense. "What is it?"

"Well, uh...it's..." the Doctor had to stop and exhale because otherwise he wouldn't be able to keep talking. He was super nervous all of a sudden and he had no reason to be. _You decided to make it, now give it to her!_ The voice was right. "I've made something for you."

"Oh," Renata blinked with genuine surprise and perhaps a bit of curiosity. What could he have made for _her_?

"Yeah, um...hold on," the Doctor reached for one of his coat's inside pockets and pulled out a small rectangular box. "I-I thought - well, after the whole Monaxi thing, I thought you might benefit from one."

"Benefit from what?" Renata gingerly took the box from him.

"Open it." The Doctor intently watched her pull the lid off the box, his hearts possibly beating quicker when she gasped.

Renata's eyes had widened the moment she saw a golden white sonic screwdriver tucked inside the box. She looked up at the Doctor with the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile. "Is it...is it actually a...a _sonic_?" She looked like she wanted to laugh so the Doctor presumed she was liking the gift. "It's a sonic screwdriver!?"

"Yeah, um, I figured you might like one so that you can...you know, not have to use your balled fists?" the Doctor raised his own fists for show, making Renata laugh when she remembered how she wanted to take on the Monaxi even without a sonic and just her hands.

"Right," she brought her hand to her stomach while she laughed. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe you would do this for me!"

The Doctor loved seeing her face so bright with delight. She very rarely had these moments and he proud that _he_ was responsible for her happiness right now.

"My own sonic screwdriver, ha!" Renata picked up the sonic from its box and studied it. It was similar to the Doctor's sonic only hers seemed to have a bit more width to it, and it had a clear tip that, once she flicked it on, shined a light golden unlike the Doctor's that shined blue. She laughed at the golden light. "My favorite colors!"

"Gabby's idea. She helped design the thing - loves to draw - and I worked on the, uh, well, the features." the Doctor said, smiling as she went through some of its basic features. "It's identical to mine in its working methods, just...with a few touches for you."

Renata's eyes twinkled with happy tears. _I never deserved someone like you_. She hurried over to hug him tightly. " _Thank you_ so much! I love it!"

A total wave of relief washed over the Doctor when she said that. He hugged her tighter, letting himself breathe in her sweet perfume and natural scent. "I'm glad you like it."

"How could I not? It's wonderful and so are you!" Renata wrapped her arms around his neck and really took the moment to relish in it. Of course she then noticed the light gold glow on her right hand, reminding her that not all was well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How. About. THAT. Present? That's what he thought about in the last chapter! And I just want to say I personally loved writing this last scene, especially because I got to squeeze in the origin story of THIS story got its title 'The Beginning of Everything'. It won't be the last time it come up, but the next it does come back it'll be from the Doctor's pov so you'll get to see both of their thoughts on the title!
> 
> And now...that golden energy...yikes! Oh Ren...
> 
> Next chapter is that original chapter I was talking about. Be ready to get frustrated, go 'aww', and laugh. I loved writing it!
> 
> P. S: I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	21. The Marchioness of Gallifrey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The travelers stop by King Henry VIII's palace on the day he's holding a celebration. He seems to take a special interest in Renata and despite the Doctor's efforts not to let it get to him...it does. It leads to arguments, accusations, a dance and a proposition of a thrilling night adventure together. The Doctor then starts to realize that maybe the Marchioness has caught him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pronunciation of 'Marchioness' is mar-shuh·nes!

The TARDIS wardrobe was ransacked the morning the Doctor suggested the group take a trip into the past so Gabby and Donna could meet royalty. The idea stemmed from a passing remark Renata made the previous night about having to explain to Gabby how royalty worked in the future. The Doctor thought it would be a nice idea if Gabby and Donna could see royalty up close. Plus, it was always fun having a leisure day in the past. And after their recent trips full of danger, Gods, alien bees...they _needed_ a leisure trip.

So as soon as he made his idea known, Gabby and Donna zoomed for the wardrobe room. If they were going to travel back in time to meet royalty then they would need to find dresses and jewelry and do their hair. The Doctor prepared himself at the idea that they would be spending a _long_ time getting ready.

Renata, for her part, hadn't taken long. She knew where to go, what to pick, how to do her hair. She was done in half an hour and that was only because Donna couldn't quite figure out how to tie her corset. Now, Renata helped the two human women.

"I can't believe we're actually going to meet a _Queen_ and _King_!" Gabby gushed as Renata finished doing her hair. She was sitting in front of a vanity desk and was watching Renata through the mirror as she did wonders with her hair.

"Gabriella _please_ stop moving so much," Renata had to physically hold Gabby's head for a few seconds to keep Gabby still. "And I don't know why you're so excited," Renata said once she could trust Gabby to keep herself from moving.

Suddenly, Donna scoffed from the side of the room. She was getting changed like Renata told her to. She was next in the hair department. "Why we're so excited!?" Donna called. "Because we're meeting flippin _royalty_!"

"Yeah, but they're people. They're literally just people," Renata shook her head. She focused on pinning the last butterfly hair pin on Gabby's hair. "There we are. What do you think?"

Gabby once again gushed at her reflection. "I love it! You really do know how to do hairstyles!"

Indignance flashed across Renata's face. "What - did you _doubt_ me!?"

"No!" Gabby laughed and went back to looking at herself in the mirror. Renata had curled her hair - proving once and for all to Gabby and Donna that she _did_ know how to use a curling iron - and made a few braids to be left down while others were pulled to the back. The braids on the back were connected by a lavender butterfly pins.

"Alright, my turn!" Donna came out wearing an ornate emerald green gown with white lace at the squared neckline and cuffs. "Up, up!"

Gabby got up from the chair and hitched the sides of her baby blue dress to move around. "What are you going to do to Donna's hair?" she curiously asked.

Renata's hands were already massaging Donna's hair. She looked at Donna through the mirror with a warm smile. "I'm thinking we leave this fiery hair down and curl it."

"You're the Noble one," Donna laughed at her own joke.

"Oh Donna, I'm really not," Renata's smile had become strained but with all the excitement going on no one noticed.

"Course you are! Now c'mon! Before the Doctor changes his mind!"

~0~

The Doctor really had almost changed his mind after so much waiting. He would never understand why it took most women - and a few men - _so long_ to get changed. Like, was there an invisible force keeping them from getting ready quick that he wasn't aware of? _What_ was it?

Words could not explain the _relief_ he felt when he heard Renata's voice asking their companions to calm down. She must have been helping Gabby and Donna get ready because as far as the Doctor knew, Renata _never_ took long to get changed for a trip. He didn't know if it was part of her customs back on Gallifrey to be ready as quick as possible or if she just wasn't affected by the invisible force he wasn't sure existed or not.

"Please try to act normal," Renata was instructing the women when she strode into the console room. "Nothing gives you away like screaming and being all giddy."

"Finally!" the Doctor made a point of saying it loudly and as frustrated as he actually was. He started making his way towards the doors. "I've been parked outside the 16th century for hours! I thought you got lost in there!

"They did," Renata came around the console to check the monitor. She wanted to make sure he had actually landed them in the correct spot and not some alien version of 16th century Earth. "And then I found them. They're very fond of the 1920s. Apparently, the whole Agatha Christie trip didn't fill them up but they are ready - I got them ready."

"You make us sound like children," Donna huffed with her arms crossed.

Renata cast a look at Donna as she started for the doors. "In my eyes, you might as well be."

Donna rolled her eyes at the woman while Gabby giggled beside her. Just because Renata was right didn't mean Donna would admit to it.

Renata stepped out of the TARDIS to find a bright green garden field. She would've immediately assumed the Doctor _had_ taken them to the wrong place if she hadn't caught a glimpse of a tall palace in the distance.

"Is that a _real_ castle!?" Gabby squealed so loud that the others flinched.

"To be correct, it's the Hampton Court Palace," the Doctor began to explain. "King Henry VIII and his new wife Anne of Cleves are living there. The Hampton palace is known for it's incredible size and rooms. I'm sure you'll all love it." And judging by Donna's and Gabby's faces, he was right. "Shall we-"

"I'm off to meet royalty!" Donna happily declared before taking off first.

"Me too! Maybe I'll meet a prince!" Gabby gushed again and rushed off.

"Remember what I said about not being all giddy!?" Renata was left to call for them. "You're going to get us caught!" But neither woman seemed to hear.

"Ah, they'll be fine," the Doctor said with a tone that fully believed in what he was saying.

Renata wouldn't be so naive. She scoffed lightly and reached behind them to close the TARDIS doors. "Are you sure leaving the TARDIS here is a good idea?"

"Yeah, we don't want it too close to the palace. She'll be fine here. We'll be fine too so please _relax_." The Doctor was holding his arm out when Renata turned around.

"What? I _am_ relaxed!"

The only reason the Doctor wouldn't scoff is because he would rather move onto something he'd been keeping back. "You look lovely, Renée."

He'd thought she looked right at home in such an elegant gown. She knew exactly how to best compliment herself, probably accustomed in her days on Gallifrey. She had chosen a gold and white dress that, under the sunlight, looked a bit orange. It had three-quarter sleeves and a flared skirt. The bodice had deep v-neck with the stomacher, in a whiter shade than the rest of the dress, covering her chest. There was a small, orange gemstone attached to tip of her bodice, perhaps bringing just a bit more attention to her chest. She wore a small, glimmering orange necklace. Her hair was tucked in an elegant low bun with two strands of her blonde curls left to frame her face.

Renata shifted for the first seconds while she figured out a way to _not_ look like an idiot. The Doctor always got her like that too and it was utterly ridiculous! She was 756 for God's sake! She was a grown woman who shouldn't get mad blushes over a simple compliment.

"...thank you," she pressed down on the side of her dress, awkwardly clearing her throat. "I'm a bit sad though that I couldn't bring my sonic screwdriver around. No pockets." The Doctor smiled as he got the image of Donna shouting at him for assuming her wedding dress had pockets. Renata was none the wiser about it. "And I think I may have chosen something a bit ahead of this time period, but-"

"You'll be setting a style," the Doctor moved to stand beside her with his arm still held out for her. "What do you think? Lady? Duchess?"

There was a novel glint in her eyes when he asked. "... _Marchioness_."

The Doctor hummed and swayed his head as he tested the title out. "Marchioness Renata..." It made sense for her to pick that title instead of a Duchess which was the next higher rank. If he knew Renata, and he thought he did, she chose 'Marchioness' because it would attract the lesser attention amongst a group of royals. She never like getting so much attention, she preferred simplicity. And if he was being honest, the title sounded a lot better than 'Duchess'. The Doctor didn't know why it was, but it just was.

Renata curled her arm around his and pulled him after their companions. "It's an appropriate title given the fact I _am_ a widow."

The Doctor went serious for a moment, knowing she was right. "Of course." She was being completely logical, as usual, but there was an unusual (and recently _new_ ) feeling in his stomach when he thought about Renata being married.

~0~

The Hampton Court Palace seemed to be in a rush when the travelers reached the entrance. There were carriages arriving and leaving, bustling employees going to and from and the employees _not_ moving about were decorating the building and cutting the bushes.

"I wonder what's going on," Gabby remarked to the group.

"I bet the old chap Henry is having a party today," the Doctor said. "Very famous for those too."

"How are we getting in?" Donna inquired once they'd reached the entrance. They didn't seem to be lingering like they were going to think of a plan. The Doctor was leading them straight for the entrance.

"Oh, did I forget to mention I've already met Henry?" he flashed the women a smirk at the same time he pulled out his psychic paper from his coat.

"Oh great, the return of the lying booklet," Renata sighed lightly but let it be.

The Doctor presented the psychic paper to the guards and the male servant greeting guests at the door. "John Smith - known better as the Doctor - Marchioness Renata, Lady Donna and Lady Gabby," he read off so calmly and smoothly that no one would eve rethink twice about disbelieving them.

As soon as the servant saw the psychic paper, his eyes stuck to the Doctor. "Doctor, welcome back!"

"You _do_ know them," Donna's eyes widened, gasping lightly.

"Good to see you too, Barnard" the Doctor shut his psychic paper. "What's it been?"

"About seven years, sir," Barnard gave a dutiful nod before glancing at the woman.

"Good, hasn't been that long yet," the Doctor mumbled. He missed Renata rolling her eyes at him. She only dreaded what kind of mischief he'd gotten himself into the last time he was around. Hopefully Martha had been around to keep him in check.

"And you've married," Barnard's hazel eyes flickered to Renata who still had her arm curled around the Doctor's. Her face went a rosy tint within seconds. "Your Most Honorable Marchioness." He did a courtesy bow for the blonde.

"Oh n-n-no! _Not_ married!" Renata shook her head and elbowed the Doctor to get him in on the corrections.

He yelped from pain and tried agreeing while rubbing his side. "Not...married..."

"Widowed," Renata corrected. "Mr. Smith has offered to guide me and my..." she glanced at Donna and Gabby, both humans amused with the show, "...sisters to the city. I hope his majesty does not mind 3 extra guests to...?"

"His Majesty has decided to throw a celebration tonight. No other reason than to, uh..." Barnard trailed with a smile.

"To party?" Gabby asked, from now on putting on an accent to fit the sisterly role Renata had appropriated on her. It was surprisingly easy.

"Yes," Barnard nodded abashedly. "But please come in. I will inform his majesty of your arrival and appoint you bedrooms."

"Oh but we're not staying more than a day," Renata said, looking to the Doctor for some help again. She didn't think that they could last a day without causing trouble, whether it was by accident or not.

"The party will last two days my Lady," Barnard explained. "I believe his majesty will like it if you stayed."

"We'd be honored to," the Doctor grinned and glanced at the others. Donna and Gabby seemed to agree, Renata being a bit weary as they were allowed into the palace.

~0~

There was definitely a party to be held that evening for every room had servants going back and forth. Renata pitied the overworked men and women forced to prepare what would no doubt be a ridiculously huge party.

"I don't like the idea of staying overnight and making these people work extra," she quietly told the Doctor as a different servant escorted them down the hallways for the gardens where most of the higher-ranked courtiers and guests were. "Plus, I don't know how long we can keep this charade going."

"Oh don't worry. Henry and I are actually good friends - we've had jousting matches!" the Doctor smiled nostalgically. "It didn't work out for him in the end, though."

"Doctor, focus!"

"Right," the Doctor shook his head and offered her a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine."

"This way," the servant led them down the steps into the garden. "His and Her Majesty are greeting the guests right now. Barnard has made them aware of your presence."

"Good, thanks," the Doctor said, completely at ease unlike his two human companions.

"We're meeting the bloody King and Queen of England!" Donna was straining her voice so it wouldn't come out in a shout, but Gabby was squealing like a little girl beside her.

"This isn't going to work," Renata brought a hand to her forehead. "We'll be beheaded in an hour."

"Would you relax?" the Doctor shot her a look, almost begging her to keep quiet. At this point, he'd rather take the squealing humans beside them.

The servant left the trio with Barnard once more who then led them through the circles of guests mingling. The travelers immediately spotted the King and Queen at the center conversing with a couple and before they could even think about how to best greet them, King Henry turned and yelled for the Doctor.

"It _is_ you!" the tall man threw his arms into the air and laughed. He waved off the couple he'd been talking to and strode up to the Doctor. As traditions called, the Doctor was about to bow but Henry took him into a hug. Renata, who'd had her arm around the Doctor's, was forced to let go and stumbled into Donna. "Been far too long!"

"Yes, yes, it has," the Doctor agreed with his own laugh.

"Oh my God that's King Henry VIII," Gabby whispered to Donna as she practically clung to the ginger's arm.

Donna didn't seem the least bothered by Gabby's relentlessly shaking her arm. She was so excited too! "I bloody know!"

Renata cleared her throat at the two, shooting them a stern look. _Calm down_ was written across her face.

"I have brought a few extra guests for tonight's, uh, celebration," the Doctor said once he was able to pry the King off him. "I'm assisting them on their journey to London and thought we should stop by to see an old friend."

"Well of course!" Henry laughed and started studying the three women. While he did that, the women studied him as well. He was fairly tall, probably the same height as the Doctor. However, they differed in that Henry had a pudginess to his face and he wasn't as slim as the Doctor. He had a receding hairline but even then his hair seemed to be thinning. He did have a full beard though, shading between brown and a light ginger.

"Ladies, his Majesty, King Henry," the Doctor gestured to the man. "Your majesty, Lady Gabby Gonzalez and Lady Donna Noble..." he barely got to introduce before the two humans bowed.

Gabby immediately plunged herself a bit too low out of her excitement. "Your majesties."

Donna did the same, much to Renata's dismay, and smiled at the royal pair. "An honor to meet you."

"Stand up," Renata hissed under her breath and in doing so she claimed the King's attention. Seeing this, Renata did the appropriate bow and gracefully smiled. "Your majesties."

"This is the Marchioness of..." the Doctor struggled for a few seconds to find the appropriate land for Renata, something she felt guilty for because she hadn't even considered it herself. But, just like that, the Doctor realized there was only one possible answer. "This is the Most Honorable Marchioness of Gallifrey."

Renata's eyes widened and snapped to the Doctor, but even then she finished bowing and rose like she hadn't been shaken. "It is an honor to meet you, your Majesties." She could see the Queen was cautiously standing behind her husband, no doubt waiting to be introduced by her husband, so Renata offered the woman a kind a smile.

"Doctor, you married such a beautiful jewel," Henry's eyes seemed to spark with something that Renata hadn't been able to describe in that second. She was more focused on the incorrect assumption about her status... _again_.

"We are _not_ married," she said with a strain in her voice. Henry looked at the Doctor for his confirmation, something that reminded Renata how badly this period was for women. _Her_ word was not enough. Only the Doctor's words mattered.

"We're not," he agreed. He didn't miss the way Henry's face lit up at the news. _What the hell are you so happy about?_ The silent question came in an unusual angry way.

"You're widowed, my condolences," Henry's tone didn't exactly portray the feeling of his words. He took Renata's hand without warning her, choosing to ignore the small "Oh!" that slipped her lips when her body was jerked towards him.

The Doctor did _not_ miss it. Gabby and Donna giggled as quietly as they could when the King kissed the back of Renata's hand.

"You are too kind, your Majesty," Renata took her hand out of his the moment she could. "It was a very long time ago, though."

"Oh, really?" Henry lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Still," the Queen suddenly spoke up, "You have our deepest condolences." She did offer a genuine kind smile that Renata could take to heart.

At the reminder of his wife's presence, Henry stepped back to stand beside her to introduce her. "Doctor, unlike you, _I_ have married. Her Majesty Queen Anne."

All the travelers once again bowed according to custom. The Queen, unlike her husband, seemed like a kind woman. Her warm smile was a charmer. She was a tall, slim young woman - if the timing was right, she was only 25 - with fair blonde hair tucked into a pony-tail hanging over her shoulder. She had a pointed chin and slim cheeks. Her dark chocolate brown, though heavily lidded, eyes gave each of the travelers a welcoming look.

"Honor to meet you, your Majesty," the Doctor said had the agreeing nods of the women.

"I _have_ heard about you, Doctor," Anne confessed, a hint of curiosity etching across her face. "And if what my husband said is true then I look forward to having you at our celebration this evening."

"Thank you," the Doctor gave a polite nod of his head.

"Have your things been assigned to bedchambers?"

"Uuh..." the Doctor quickly looked at Renata, his mouth slightly opened.

"We had a carriage sent to London hours ago," the Time Lady supplied the excuse within the second, and she said it so smoothly as well. "We only have what we are wearing. We didn't know there was a celebration tonight. Apologies."

"No matter, we can supply you with the right clothes," the Queen said, glancing at Henry to see if agreed.

"Of course!" He laughed, clapping a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Anything for my good friend the Doctor and his _lovely_ friends."

The Doctor had the light suspicion that Henry was really only talking about _one_ of his friends.

~ 0 ~

"What's wrong with you, giving me that Marchioness title?" Renata was deciding whether to laugh or smack the Doctor. The group was taking leisure in the gardens much like everyone else was that afternoon while they waited for evening to fall.

"I think it's funny," Gabby chuckled behind them. "The Marchioness of _Gallifrey_?"

Renata shook her head at them both but there was a smile creeping across her face. "You two are ridiculous."

"I thought it was fitting!" the Doctor exclaimed. "You're the pinnacle of what every Time Lord family wanted out of their daughters. You _should_ have been the Marchioness of the entire planet."

"Oh Doctor," Renata sighed and picked up her pace. "Look at us, focusing on stupid titles when we're in such a beautiful garden. Aren't they finishing up a maze around here?"

"Actually," the Doctor began, making her and Gabby stop, "You're thinking of _The Maze_ that won't be started until 1689," the Doctor corrected.

"Oh..." Renata's eyebrows rose as her face flushed. "...miscalculation?"

The Doctor's mouth curved into a fond smile. "A bit."

Renata bobbed her head as she slowly turned away from him. "Oh, we can't all be like you!"

"Thank goodness, I don't think the world can handle another 'me'," the Doctor motioned Gabby to start walking with them. "Can you imagine that?"

Gabby chuckled. "I don't think I can!"

"Still, this place is marvelous," Renata stopped by to admire a bush that'd been shaped into a horse. "There are clearly some artistic hands in this place." She glanced specifically at Gabby. "Maybe we can find them for you. It'd be a good idea for you to meet some _human_ artists and get new perspectives."

Gabby adored the idea. She'd already met an alien artist so it was only fair she met genuine human artists too! She spun around, her eyes scanning the crowds of guests in the garden. "Do you think they're here?"

"Probably not the ones who made this bush, but...I'm sure there has to be somebody artistic here," Renata took a few steps towards the girl, joining Gabby in the search for an artist. "Perhaps we should ask Donna. She's certainly made herself comfortable amongst the royalty."

The Doctor hummed in agreement. Everyone's eyes found their ginger friend laughing away with one of the Queen's Ladies-in-Waiting. It was truly an amazing sight because none of them had ever pictured Donna like that.

"She's even speaking like them," Renata brought a hand up to her mouth to cover her laugh.

"Hmm, truly never underestimate Donna Noble," the Doctor slid his hands into his pockets and watched in amusement as Donna retold a story about herself in London...in the same time period.

"Oh great, you're teaching them to lie!" Renata dropped her hand from her mouth and whacked the Doctor's arm with her other hand. "We're teaching them to lie!"

"What - _I_ didn't tell her to make up stories!" the Doctor rubbed his arm and turned to Renata.

"Well, go tell her not to tell stories! She'll get us caught!"

The Doctor groaned, swaying his head as he once again cast a look in Donna's way. "No...she won't..." But Donna actually seemed pretty animated over the story she was telling.

"Doctor, this is _not_ a time period we can so easily mess with," Renata argued with a very good point on her side. "I'm not saying she shouldn't tell stories just...maybe tone it down a bit?"

The Doctor sighed in resignation. "Yeah, alright." Who knew, maybe in Donna's excitement she might say the wrong thing. It was a long run back to the TARDIS.

"And you Gabriella," Renata ushered the young girl towards the crowd, "We most definitely can find somebody worthwhile for you speak to. It would be so exciting if we could actually find an artist."

"Mhm!" Gabby agreed.

"Tell you what, I'll go look over there and you take Donna's side."

"Right - wait!" Gabby's eyes widened with realization. "You mean I have to talk to all of these people!? By myself!?"

"It'll be fine," Renata gave a dismissive wave of her hand. She was already scanning the crowds for the most viable candidates. "An artist usually caries a different air around them. And around this time, they're primarily male."

"Oh! _That_ makes it better!" Gabby fervently shook her head and stopped walking. "I can't talk to these men! I don't know them and what if I get caught?"

"You won't. And if you're that nervous about it, have the Doctor or Donna help you. Go!" Renata once again ushered Gabby forwards.

"But what about you?"

"I'm a Marchioness to these people, nobody would bat a suspicious eye at a widow trying to make small talk with men." Of course as soon as Renata heard her own words, her nose crinkled. "Oh...that sounded a lot better in my head."

Gabby giggled at the Time Lady. "Now you're sounding like the Doctor."

"Oh just go!" Renata shooed her away. She herself took the other side of the crowd and started going through the crowds, presenting herself as normally as she could.

She admitted that it was pretty simple considering this is more or less what life was like back on Gallifrey, minus the royalty. It was easy engaging humans in conversation when the topics were dim: jewelry, parties and the same old gossip.

"You are a charming woman, my Lady," Lady Margaret Douglas laughed at what Renata didn't think was so amusing. She'd only made up a story about a trip she supposedly took with another Lady in Waiting.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Renata chuckled along with another Lady in Waiting, Susanna Hornebolt.

"How is it that we have never met?" Susanna asked after receiving a flute from a passing servant. "You should clearly be at every event his Majesty holds. A Widower who has traveled more than any of us is somebody who holds many interesting stories."

"I'm not the type to attend so many, uh, public events," Renata cleared her throat and discreetly continued to search through the crowds. These two women were possibly the most chit chatty people she'd ever met and so far neither of them had given her any indication of just _who_ was at this event. Before them she had stopped by a few Dukes under the guise of a confused woman asking where her sisters were. That sparked conversation and while Renata did get a few identities of other guests, they weren't any artists. Before the dukes, she'd caught a Duchess and her brother. Neither of them knew the guests.

How helpful they were.

Renata thought that these two Ladies might have more information. She could tell Gabby was getting far too flustered to keep her conversations going. There was only so much the Doctor could do for her.

"Excuse me," Susanna had to part when the Queen called for her assistance.

"Look at her, so eager to help," Lady Margaret huffed beside Renata. She cast Margaret a puzzled glance. Margaret chortled. "If you stay, you will learn what truly goes on around here. Lady Susana, for starters, is a widower herself. She is in severe financial troubles. Everybody knows that she is searching for a new husband to ease her problems."

"Oh, and you're helping her by telling me this?" Renata couldn't help the sour tinge covering her words. It was too petty for her.

"Simply so you know to keep your own prospects under a close eye."

Renata's face contorted to a deeper level of confusion until Margaret inclined her head in the Doctor's direction. Soon as Renata understood she groaned and not as quietly as a true Marchioness would have. "For the love of - we are _not_ married and we are not _getting_ married! I am not looking for a husband! Is that all you people think about?!"

Margaret was taken aback by what would be considered an abrasive reaction in the time period, but Renata wouldn't take anything back. Why didn't anyone believe that she and the Doctor were _only_ friends!? Was it too hard to understand the concept of friendship?

"My Lady?" Henry was approaching the women, instigating for Margaret to stiffen.

 _So that's how you shut her up_ , Renata silently thought.

"Your Majesty," Margaret did her dutiful bow.

"I wish to speak to the Marchioness alone. Leave us," Henry didn't spare the woman a look. He had said his rather cold words all while he smiled at Renata.

Margaret nodded and rushed off but Renata noticed the lingering look the human had on her. Renata sighed inwardly sighed. She knew what thoughts must be starting up in that human head of hers.

"My Lady, I have heard you were asking several of my guests about their professions? May I ask why? Not looking for a husband right now, are we?"

Renata literally forced herself to resist the urge to snap. "No...your majesty. I am not looking for a husband in any of these men. I was merely curious because one of my sisters has an interest in art."

"Ah," Henry's face lit up. "You should have asked _me_ , then. I do love myself the crafts. If your sister is interested, we can allow her to view the portraits I have collected from around the world."

A genuine smile spread across Renata's face. "Oh, really? That would...that would actually be very kind of you. Gabriella adores all types of art so, really, anything you would share with her would be deeply appreciated."

"Say no more," Henry made a gesture for a servant to come by. "See to it that my Art room is fit for the Honorable Marchioness and her sister by tomorrow morning." The servant quickly nodded his head and rushed off.

"I truly appreciate it, your Majesty."

Henry took pleasure in her beaming face. "Please, it is the least I can do for one of the Doctor's _friends_."

Renata missed the emphasis Henry had put in 'friends' due to her search for Gabby in the crowd. She wanted to tell Gabby as quick as possible - the girl would be so excited!

"May I ask what are _your_ interests?"

"What?" Renata's head snapped in the King's direction when she realized she was getting lost in her search. "I'm sorry?"

"Your interests, my Lady. One of your sisters is interested in the arts, and you?"

"Oh, uh..." Renata started looking away while she racked her brain for humanly qualities. "I...I like..."

 _Be simple_ , she told herself. The Doctor wouldn't complicate backstories so much. "I like to help people, teach," she settled for. Back on Gallifrey that's what she did. Teaching Gabby about outer space was a bit out of her element but when she was on Gallifrey, working her foundation, she knew exactly what to do. "I, uh...I do a lot of charity work. There are so many people, children, that require our help."

"Ah, truly noble of you then," Henry gave a small nod. "I do like women who are vastly educated. My wife, it seems, is not as educated as I was made to believe."

Renata pursed her lips. Queen Anne of Cleves was known to be an incredibly kind, docile woman with a German education...but not to the type of education that Henry had expected before marrying her. "I'm sure she is educated where it matters."

Henry bobbed his head but didn't outright insist on his opinion. "Do you like the study of astronomy?"

The smile that came to Renata's face was automatic when it came to that subject. "I suppose I do."

"Have you seen our Astronomical clock hanging on the gatehouse of inner court?"

"No, I have not actually."

"We must correct that. A woman of your education and beauty must see it." Henry offered Renata his arm and though he was doing it kindly, Renata suspected that declining wasn't an option. He was infamous for his cold, sometimes dangerous, behavior.

Just like she would on Gallifrey, Renata accepted something she did not want. She took Henry's arm and allowed him to lead her away.

From a distance, the Doctor caught them leaving. He was initially perplexed, almost thinking that the woman couldn't be Renata. But he would recognize those fair movements of hers anywhere, along with her elegant hair bun. Renata was leaving the party - where there were plenty of _people_ \- to be alone with Henry? That didn't settle right with his stomach.

~ 0 ~

Renata wasn't so sure about this alone time with Henry but all her concerns washed away when she saw the mesmerizing clock hanging up on the building. It was truly an astounding sight.

The outer rim of the clock was a stark blue, nearly matching the skies had it been a lighter shade. It had the Roman Numerals carved as the 24 hour segments. There were three more main segments - copper dials - within the clock, each donning their own brilliant shades of blue. A few golden and red decorative segments were between the rim and the second segment. The other three copper dials were rotating at different speeds.

"This is truly amazing," Renata laughed and brought a hand to cover her mouth. She was opening it too much for a King, she probably looked out of place.

But Henry was admiring her reaction. He was grinning, really, as she continued to gawk over the clock. "We have other clocks in the palace but I wanted this one to be different. This one can be used by our incoming guests using the River Thames."

"I think they could," Renata agreed with a fervent nod of her head.

"The central dial rotates only once per lunar month," Henry explained and pointed up at the baby blue dial in the middle of the clock. "It also gives us the time when the moon crosses the meridian..."

"So you can be aware of the tides," Renata finished his sentence, meeting his impressed gaze with a laugh. "Yes, I'm familiar with the concept."

"I can see," Henry nodded, now laughing himself. "Well then, the middle dial...what do you think it's showing us?"

Renata would've laughed at the human who thought he could challenge her, a _Time Lady_ , with _time_. _You are so cheating Renata_ , she told herself but she was simply having too much fun. It was her chance to show off for a change. "Let us see," she put her hands behind her back and took a few steps towards the clock. She raised her head and studied the second dial.

Behind her, Henry watched her with bemusement. The Marchioness of Gallifrey was proving to be as exotic as the Doctor. How he had found her, Henry had no idea, but he would be damned if he let the Doctor take her away.

"I got it," Renata announced and turned around just as Henry took the steps she had taken to be face to face with her. "It's showing the age of the moon and your outer dial-" she pointed a finger over her head, "-shows us the months and the zodiac. I also admire how you worked in the movement of the _sun_."

Henry's eyebrows nearly shot up to his receding hairline. "Marchioness of Gallifrey, you have just impressed the King of England in the span of 10 seconds. That is a true record."

Renata smirked proudly. "I do have my moments." The Doctor always told her that but she never quite believed it. Maybe she should start now.

~0~

Once evening began to fall, Renata and Henry returned to the garden. Henry then announced the party would start in one hour. Everyone was to report to the Great Hall starting at seven. Barnard was tasked to bring the travelers to their appointed bedchambers.

"If you need anything, please let us know," Barnard stopped by the last door which had been Gabby's bedchamber.

"Thank you," the Doctor said with a strained smile. Barnard gave a dutiful nod then left the group.

"I am so excited!" Gabby gushed once they were alone in the grand hallway. "And do we really get to wear actual dresses from this place!?"

"You better believe that _I'm_ going to be wearing one of them!" Donna's eyes practically radiated with excitement.

"I think it would be nice," Renata agreed with a small laugh. "But please remember to keep yourselves as calm as possible. We don't want to attract attention."

"Right, will you be taking your own advice then?" the Doctor's sudden question put Renata off for a moment. He was a little surprised himself but his irritation got the best of him.

"What?" Renata laughed out of confusion.

Gabby and Donna exchanged glances with each other. They'd noticed that the Doctor had been a bit tensed earlier in the day and neither really understood why. He hadn't said anything to either of them - he barely uttered a word to them in fact - in the gardens.

"I only mean that for somebody who's intent was to _blend_ in, you're not doing a very good job," the Doctor put a hand into his pocket. He glanced away from Renata. She arched an eyebrow at him, naturally questioning his words.

"What do you mean?" she heard the Doctor scoff and frowned. "Excuse me, what do you mean?"

"Nothing...except I couldn't help notice you practically spent the whole afternoon with the King."

It took 2 seconds for Renata to figure out what he was trying to say. Her eyes blazed with fury that would have scared anybody, but the Doctor was all upset on his own.

"I will not...I will _not_ tolerate such an accusation!" she pointed a finger at him then stormed away.

"Oh, yeah, go off!" the Doctor called after her, but after a few seconds his face scrunched. He _needed_ to know what she was doing the whole afternoon with Henry. He sprinted after her, leaving Gabby and Donna to do the same. "You know, I had the Queen asking me if I'd seen her dear ole husband this afternoon! I had to tell her that I had no idea where he was!"

Renata kept her fast-paced walk down the hallway. "Nobody asked you to lie!" she uncharacteristically snapped.

"You shouldn't have gone off with him!"

Renata came to an abrupt stop outside her bed chamber, turning quick enough to bump into the Doctor. "Why shouldn't I have? I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Her narrowed eyes met his and without him actually saying anything, Renata saw the doubt sprinkled in his irises. She deeply gasped, her hand moving up to cover her mouth as she stepped away from him.

Gabby and Donna each winced with that type of gasp. For a moment they thought something physically hurt Renata.

But nothing _physically_ hurt, only her hearts. "Do you think...?" Renata could barely say the words without sounding like she'd lost air. It also seemed like she was trying not to scream right there and then. "Do you think that I was doing something... _immoral_ with Henry?" Even saying the word, through all her efforts, disgusted her.

The Doctor said nothing but there was a terse air around him. His hearts were hammering under his chest, a loud voice in his head was screaming at him to take back his unsaid suspicion. Even if she _had_ done something, what did _he_ have to say about it? First of all, she was not his anything except his friend and second of all...he'd done something more or less similar with Zuriah. He had absolutely no right to even ask that question.

So _how_ could he get the image of Renata and Henry out of his head? And why did it _bother_ him so much?

His long silence answered Renata's question. Her face went red fast and she was scrunching it as if she was about to scream. For a moment, Gabby thought she might explode.

"I - he was showing me something!" she settled for an exclaim but every word she said was a risk that might lead to a shrill scream. "This stupid astronomical clock that I actually admired and I was going to show it to you tomorrow so you could see how beautiful it is!"

"Well that's..." the Doctor's mouth opened several times but there was nothing to argue about _that_. _She was looking at a clock you idiot._ "Just keep your eyes peeled for Henry. I know him and I know when he has someone new in his eyes."

Those words still didn't calm Renata down. "You are being ridiculous!"

"I am not!"

"YES!" Renata caught herself shouting and lowered her volume but it was still louder than a typical exclaim. "We were only talking! He was showing me a clock and do you know what else he's going to do?"

"What?" there was a clear sourness in the Doctor's single-worded response.

"He's agreed to let Gabby see his art room!"

Gabby gasped on instinct. "Really!?" Donna quickly cleared her throat, throwing a " _Not the time_ " under her breath that reminded Gabby to stay silent.

"That's how he starts!" the Doctor shouted but Renata scoffed in disbelief. "Renata you are beyond intelligent! Can't you see he has his eyes on you!?"

"He was being kind!"

"Yes!" the Doctor's voice went high pitched there for a second. "Because that's what he does each time he wants a new wife!"

"Oh, that's preposterous! We all know he'll be meeting a new woman in a matter of months! He does _not_ want _me_!" Renata's chest heaved up and down with her ragged breathing.

They heard the squeaks of shoes coming towards them. A young female servant approached them in a hasty sprint. "My Lady," she did a courtesy bow for Renata, "His Majesty has arranged for a selection of gowns to be brought in a few minutes."

Renata's eyes widened in mortification. She looked at the Doctor who couldn't be more smug that he was right. They practically heard her sharp intake of breath after that.

"That-" she jabbed her finger at the Doctor's chest, "-proves nothing!"

The Doctor swayed his head. " _Actually-"_

"Thank you," Renata told the young servant before storming into her room and slamming the door shut.

"You know I'm right, Renata!" the Doctor called from his spot. He opened his mouth as if to say more but closed it in the end. He awkwardly shifted until he was able to pull himself away from the door and storm away.

With a simultaneous sigh, Gabby and Donna turned to each other. _What a **mess**_ , they thought the same thing. Fortunately, they both knew what to do.

"You take Renata!" Donna exclaimed at the same time Gabby exclaimed, "You take the Doctor!"

They agreed with firm nods and split after their respective Time Lord.

Gabby didn't even bother knocking on Renata's door. She burst in, demanding for Renata to hear her. "You're not going to seriously argue over some creepy King, are you!?"

Renata was sitting at her vanity desk, pulling off her necklace. "I am not speaking about this with you, Gabriella. You don't need to concern yourself over this anyways."

"Oh, don't give me that, Ren!" Gabby marched up to the Time Lady, stopping right behind her chair. "You don't like arguing with the Doctor and neither do I nor Donna."

"I wasn't arguing, I was only animatedly conversing with him."

"And yelling."

"Speaking in a slightly louder volume."

"Renata, I swear to God!"

Renata shifted in her chair to meet the girl's genuinely concerned gaze. "What do you want me to do? _Apologize_? I haven't done anything wrong."

"No, but you _are_ ignoring the fact that the Doctor might be a bit right when he says King Henry likes you."

Before Renata could once again deny, or at least argue, there was knock on her door. "Come in?" Renata said, exchanging a look with Gabby.

The same young female servant from before had opened the door to allow an older man inside. He was carrying a chest that seemed pretty heavy. Behind him came two more female servants carrying smaller chests in their arms.

"My Lady, the gowns that his Majesty has sent for you," the female servant said as the man set the chest down.

"And the accompanying jewelry," one of the older female servants said as she and the other woman put the smaller chests on the drawer dresser.

Much like the Doctor had, Gabby fixated a sharp look on Renata. The Time Lady huffed but thanked the servants for bringing the things inside.

"Okay, so he might have a point..."

"He _might_!?" Gabby crossed her arms over her chest. "Renata, this guy is clearly trying to entice you!"

"And do you all think that I am so naive as to fall for it?" Renata stood up from her chair with new anger tracing her features. "I'm not stupid. I know how to take care of myself!"

"No one ever said that, not even the Doctor," Gabby sighed. She didn't want to argue like the Doctor had. That wasn't the way Renata would be listening to anyone. "Ren, no one is blaming you for anything. Of course Henry would like you - have you seen yourself?"

Renata playfully rolled her eyes but once Gabby saw the flushed smile, she knew that Renata was calming down. "Gabriella..."

"No, I mean it," Gabby helped Renata move around the vanity chair so that they were face to face. "You're frikin gorgeous. Of course you'd have the King of England falling for yah, though between you and me...I don't think he's the one for you." Because despite all her fears for them, Gabby was sure that Renata would be _much_ happier with the Doctor. Gabby couldn't picture Renata choosing Henry of all people. The mere thought of it made her gag (which then caused Renata to half smile out of amusement). "But listen, I really think you and the Doctor should talk again because I think he was just trying to protect you."

Renata was quick to scoff. "Right, by shouting and treating me like I'm a child."

"Alright, so he didn't go about it the right way but you gotta admit that _you_ were being just as childish as he was."

Renata turned her head away and instead went to inspect the small chests left on her dresser.

"Ren, do you _really_ want to argue with the Doctor? You guys have seemed so close lately."

Renata opened one of the chests to find beautiful jewelry inside, but it didn't make her even half as happy as how she'd recently been feeling with the Doctor and their travels. Things had been going so smoothly lately. Each night when Gabby and Donna were asleep, she and the Doctor had their own little fun adventures. The Doctor would show her some rare, sometimes odd, places that would leave Renata with permanent wide eyes. Even when she got to choose, though her places were _much_ calmer than the Doctor's, he would still have fun with her. It was amazing...and Renata didn't want to lose that.

"We have, haven't we?" Renata whispered, her lips curving into a small smile. Despite the Doctor's insistence to keep an eye on her health, they were bonding more and, perhaps, Renata often felt like they were once again the Doctor and Zuriah.

Gabby was relieved that despite everything Renata still continued to be a practical, logical woman. "Yes, so I say we get ready for this party and meet the Doctor and Donna there. I'm sure you guys can solve things if you're both willing to talk."

"You're right." Renata's agreement made Gabby sigh in relief. Renata turned around and with a brand new smile on her face too. "Let's get ready."

~ 0 ~

"Doctor! You need to stop!" Donna was doing her best to keep up with the striding Time Lord, but she was a huge disadvantage. "Doctor! C'mon! This dress weighs a lot!"

"Go to your room, Donna," the Doctor wearily said as he made a turn for his room.

"Oi! I'm not some kid you know! But _you_ sure are acting like one!"

That jab made the Doctor stop and turn around. "Excuse me?" he frowned at her.

"Look at you, over 900 years old and you're still arguing like some jealous human bloke!"

"Jea - I am not jealous!"

Donna set a hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow. "Seriously? I'm not wasting my breath arguing over _that_ topic. I'm more interested in how you're going to apologize to Renata."

There the Doctor scoffed and loudly too. "I'm not doing anything. I'm right and you know it."

"Well of course I know Henry's got his eyes on Ren but arguing with her is not the way you'll get her to listen. You could've explained it to her calmly, you know? There was no need to be sour nor shouty!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her.

"Look at me spaceman!" Donna commanded and, to her luck, he met her gaze. "It's just me, Doctor. Again. It's just you and me so please talk to me. I'm on your side and right now...you look bad." A light chuckle came to her lips. "Since when does Renata make you go all...like that?" She waved her hand at the Doctor's put-out face. She was trying not to be so smug about it since she heard the story of 1913, but the Doctor was making it clear as day what he thought about Renata. "Oh, spaceman. The uptight Time Lady has caught _your_ eye too."

"Donna, don't say such...don't say that," the Doctor muttered and turned to continue on his way for his room.

"Why not? It's what I'm seeing - it's what I've _been_ seeing - and it's what I heard back there," Donna went after him but thanked the heavens that he was walking at a normal pace. "You're smitten with Renata!"

"Would you stop saying that before somebody hears you!" The last thing he needed was for that to make its way to Renata. It was nonsense what Donna was saying, complete nonsense...

"Like Renata?"

"Donna!" the Doctor abruptly turned around, revealing a glowering face. "Seriously. I am not smitten! I am worried about Renata-"

"Right, _and_ smitten."

"Donna," hissed the Doctor but with bare energy.

He was aware that lately he'd been having some specific thoughts and feelings about Renata and he honestly had no idea where they came from. But seeing Renata go off with Henry today set something off inside him. Up until now, Renata had always been with _him_. Whether they bickered or they had dinners or they were having regular adventures, she was always with him. He supposed he could've gotten used to the idea of having Renata with him...but he could _feel_ there was something else. And that 'feeling', while small right now, was a bit scary. He didn't know where it came from - actually, every time he thought about it his mind would go back to 1926 where he had to kiss Renata to save her life. It was literally done to save her life yet there was a warm feeling in his chest when he thought about, remembered it...

And then 1913 popped into his head. There was _so_ much that happened in that year, the _instinct_ to be with Renata, to get to know her. He would never finish understanding why even his human version had been so enamored with Renata if he only knew for a short period.

"Doctor, I don't know what your plan is but I can tell you that being the jealous type isn't going to bring Renata any closer to you," Donna brought the Doctor out of his thoughts. "Plus...it's just not you. You don't shout at people, especially your friends. If you have some feelings that you're not sure about, it's fine, but please don't lie to me about it. I can see it in your eyes."

"Yeah, alright," the Doctor relented this argument with a heavy sigh. One argument was enough for him. "I don't like arguing with Renata."

"I know," Donna gave him a small nod of her head. "So don't go arguing with her you big dunce!"

"But I _am_ right about Henry. I've seen him try the same tricks with his previous wives!"

"So then let's make sure he keeps his grubby hands off our uptight Time Lady!"

"Yeah - hold on," the Doctor pointed a finger at Donna, "Don't call her upright."

Donna scoffed in his face. "Now I know fur _sure_ you're smitten. _You_ used to think she's uptight-"

"I still do-" the Doctor winced when he blurted his words. Donna laughed and, despite his restraint, the Doctor chuckled a bit too. "She'd kill me right now..."

"Yeah she would," Donna leaned on him as she sobered from her laugh. "And I would so watch."

~ 0 ~

Renata and Gabby arrived at the Great Hall before the Doctor and Donna and the party was in full swing. Gabby's eyes dazzled at the dancers in the middle of the room. The room was full of people and Gabby was sure that half of them weren't even the same ones she'd met in the gardens earlier. There were long tables set against the wall behind the dancers and were full of food. Servants kept coming to drop off new plates and take away the empty ones. There were lavishing couches on the far left where people were mingling and, Renata was sure, they were doing a little bit more than just conversing about the weather.

As Lady Margaret pointed out, people were on the hunt for matches.

"Gabriella, stay away from that group," Renata had suddenly taken a tight hold around Gabby's arm.

"Hm? Why?" Gabby followed Renata's gaze towards the couches. People were just talking and laughing, albeit loudly, but she didn't see any harm.

"Just listen to my words and stay away from them," Renata pulled Gabby towards the opposite direction.

"My Lady Renata," Lady Margaret had cornered the two and was sweetly smiling, "You look darling tonight. Is it true his Majesty offered you an entire chest of gowns for tonight's occasion?"

"Wow, word flies fast around here," Gabby blurted and more-or-less glared at Margaret. She knew what kind of people that woman was. It reminded Gabby far too much of high school with the endless rumors and people who just loved to create and spread them.

"Uuh, yes, and I was very grateful for it since my sisters and I had our clothes taken to London earlier," Renata calmly explained, something Gabby admired because if it was _her,_ she would've snapped.

"Oh," Lady Margaret seemed disappointed as she looked away, but it only last for a few seconds. "So it is true then," she said with a newfound grin on her face, "His Majesty has taken a, uh, _liking_ to you..."

Renata's eyebrows knitted together but just as she was about to inquire what the hell Margaret knew, the King himself approached them. Lady Margaret immediately did the dutiful bow but Renata was too irritated to follow and much less make Gabby follow.

"Marchioness, you look beautiful," Henry seemed genuinely astounded with Renata's appearance but the Time Lady wished he would stop looking her up and down. "The color red was made for you."

"Thank you," Renata politely said and gave a nod of her head.

"Please, allow me to dance with you," Henry held his hand out for her.

Just like before, Renata knew that despite his kind request there was no actual option behind them. She had to dance with him. No one said 'no' to the King of England, not even her apparently. _If I had pants and the TARDIS I would_ , she begrudgingly thought when she took Henry's hand.

"Ah, it is _all_ true," Lady Margaret remarked as Henry led Renata away. Gabby craned her head at the woman, almost tempted to ask why she was still standing next to her, but Margaret was too engrossed in the scene. "You know, everyone knows that his Majesty is not satisfied with his wife."

"You mean _the Queen_?" Gabby's sharp tinge in her tone did nothing to snap Margaret out of her gossipy state. In fact, she didn't even notice Gabby was practically glaring at her.

"Her Majesty has failed to satisfy the King and now he is on the hunt for a new wife. The Marchioness seems to have played her game just right. Hm."

"Oh _no_ ," Gabby drew the line at terrible accusations. "Renata is _not_ one of those women. Whatever you may think of her is _not_ the truth. She only came as a visitor and she has _no_ interest in the King."

"Gabby, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked as he and Donna approached the two women. He spotted Gabby's upset face as soon as he entered the room.

"She's spreading rumors about Renata trying to become the next wife of King Henry!" Gabby folded her arms with a huff, throwing Margaret another glare.

"What? As if!" Donna laughed beside the Doctor. "Ren could never do something like that!"

"I don't quite like the joke," the Doctor settled a hard look on Lady Margaret, but the woman seemed so certain about thoughts. "The Marchioness is a proper Lady and she would never do anything like that."

"Yeah? Well, she's accepted the King's advances and is even wearing one of the very gowns he sent her." Lady Margaret nodded towards the dancers, making the Doctor and Donna turn in their direction. "And she's dancing with the King right now. Not even her Majesty has danced with him and _she's_ his wife."

The Doctor's hearts sunk when he saw Renata dancing with Henry. She looked absolutely stunning in her red gown, like a true Marchioness...or Queen. She had kept her tight, elegant bun and merely put a red pin on the side. Her ball gown was a deep red with flare cuff sleeves. There were a few gold and white stones accentuating her waist and the squared neckline. Her orange necklace had been replaced with a matching ruby-stone necklace.

But there was something that raised the Doctor's spirits, his hope, after studying Renata more. She had a very disgruntled face. She was upset. And if she was upset, then it meant that whatever Henry was doing was the reason she was so unhappy.

"Doctor?" Donna whispered to him, nudging him on his side. She presumed he'd once again fallen into doubts regarding Renata and she wasn't going to let it happen. "Hey, don't listen to her-"

"Lady Margaret, you should stop spreading such vile lies about the Marchioness," the Doctor looked back at the woman with a new glare, a harsher one that startled the woman. "The next time I hear one I will personally make sure you live to regret it."

Gabby actually burst into laughter when Lady Margaret rushed off in terror. The Doctor took pleasure seeing it too, but he didn't focus too much on it as he had something else to do. "Take care you two," he told his companions. "And stay away from that group over there," he made a nod towards the group on the couches like Renata had earlier then headed for the dancers.

"Seriously, _what_ is so bad about that?" Gabby was left to ask Donna because she truly had no idea. Donna burst into laughter next.

~ 0 ~

"You know, my Lady, if you would like I can arrange for your clothes to be brought back to the palace," Henry was saying to Renata while they danced. She gave him a puzzled look for his words, but he just chuckled. "Or perhaps I can simply have an entire new wardrobe for you installed here."

"Why would I want that?" she asked.

"So you can stay of course. I have thoroughly enjoyed your company; your presence is a delight that I never want to end." He leaned just a bit too close for her liking.

She tried leaning away and when it failed, she resorted to turning her head away. "I thank you but I have my own plans. The Doctor and I have arranged to be in London by tomorrow evening, perhaps earlier." _Perhaps **tonight**_ , she thought.

Henry scoffed. "Oh please, London will not have what I am offering you. You would be a fool to choose it over me."

"Then call me a fool," Renata met his irritated eyes. Her lips curved into a small smirk that only further irritated him.

"My Lady should truly think about what she is saying."

"I have _always_ thought about what I had to say," Renata said quietly. "My error was to allow people to tell me what to do, to manipulate me. I _have_ feelings and I think that there has only ever been two people in my life who have asked me what they were."

Her husband and the Doctor.

Her sister never bothered to - her feelings were an inconvenience that Renata needed to work on - and their parents simply accustomed themselves to ignoring them. The only things Renata needed to worry about were to always make a good impression and always act like a proper Time Lady.

Henry completely misunderstood Renata's words and so he did the only thing a confused man would do: disregard it. "Stay my Lady, and I will fill your life with everything you could possibly desire."

"A tempting offer..." Renata sourly remarked, her eyes darting to the side.

Somebody cleared their throat and to Renata's delight, it was the Doctor who had come to cut their dancing short. "Your Majesty, I have come to ask Lady Renata if she would like to dance with me." He specifically fixated his eyes on Renata, begging her to accept him at least for a bit.

Renata met his gaze and softened with relief. He still wanted to talk to her after their fight.

Henry barked a condescending laugh as if he knew Renata's answer would be 'no'. "I am very sorry Doctor, but she-"

" _Yes_ ," Renata said without a moment's hesitation and drew her hands off the King, not even noticing Henry's stunned face. "I would love to, please." She held her hands out for the Doctor, almost pleading him not to change his mind.

The Doctor took one of her hands and shot Henry a smile. He led Renata to a new spot where they could dance and hopefully talk in peace. He set one hand on her waist and held her hand tightly as if she'd be the one to leave. They began to dance just like the others but in awkward silence in the beginning. Each took their hold on each other as their first win. If they were still dancing together, then it meant they wanted to talk.

"You look very beautiful, Renée," the Doctor decided to be brave and be the one to break their silence. Plus, she really did look amazing.

Renata smiled at him. "Thank you, but I didn't accept the gown for any other reason than...it was really pretty." Her admission left her with flushed cheeks. It wasn't like her to do something like that after all.

"I wouldn't think anything else," the Doctor said and was disheartened to see her looking at him with doubt, doubt that _he_ had created with their fight.

"You mean that?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, of course I do," he sighed. "I'm _really_ sorry for what I said earlier. I shouldn't have - I should've _never_ implied anything like that."

"It hurt my feelings," Renata said but averted his gaze when she felt a prickly sting in her eyes from tears.

"I know," the Doctor said, knowing she was purposely avoiding looking at him. _He_ caused that too. "I was too upset but it's not excuse. You would never do anything like that."

When Renata finally gathered courage to raise her gaze, she showed her reddened eyes but with a graceful smile on her face. "I'm very sorry too. I don't like arguing with you, especially you."

"Yeah, I feel the same."

"You should know that I knew you were right about Henry. I was just playing dumb."

" _Nooo_..." the Doctor's feign of surprise elicited a light laugh from her and it was enough to make his hearts pick up.

"I know," she shook her head. "Not one of my finest moments."

"So...so are we okay?" the Doctor was cautious when he asked. He watched her intently for any clue of what her answer would be.

"Yes, of course we are," she smiled. "And if we weren't around such gossipy people I would hug you so tightly right now."

"Hm, _gossipy_ wouldn't begin to describe them," the Doctor muttered. He thought about Lady Margaret and her foul thoughts.

"They believe I am after the King and perhaps they have a right to because I've been very careless," Renata sighed and looked down at her gown as one of the prime examples of her words. "But I couldn't care less about him."

"Oh he seems to care about you a _lot_ ," the Doctor said, making her scoff.

"He _wishes_ he could have a Time Lady," she rolled her eyes.

The Doctor couldn't help the smirk that was quick to come to his face. He twirled Renata around then pulled her up to him, perhaps on purpose or simply fate, and smiled down at her. "You deserve only the best, _Marchioness of Gallifrey_."

Renata would've laughed if she wasn't so nervous under his charming gaze. _If we were alone...'_ she started to think thoughts that left her face red, " _If we were alone I might just kiss you...'_

~ 0 ~

"So why on Earth did you even agree to go off with the King anyways?" Donna asked Renata once the group had left the Great Hall. The party was more or less done except for the lingering drunken people. Now the group were walking down the hallways.

"I did not go ' _off'_ with anyone, Donna," Renata huffed. "Henry just wanted to show me the astronomical clock he had built on one of the buildings here."

Donna scoffed and mumbled under her breath, "Think he wanted to do a bit more than that."

"Look, regardless of his intentions, I actually had fun." No sooner had the words left Renata's mouth when all of sudden, she had the collective scoffs from the group. "Oh shush! I _did_ have fun!"

"Of all the people to have fun with, you chose _him_?" the Doctor couldn't help the frown that marked his face. _He_ was fun too!

"I don't know, I just...I was different. I wasn't the uptight Renata you all love to say I am," Renata shrugged, her lips curving into a wide smile the more she thought about it. "I was sort of careless, you know? He asked me-" she laughed suddenly, only deepening the frown on the Doctor's face, "-he _challenged_ me to guess what some of the clock's functions were. He wanted to know if I knew about _time_! I'm a _Time Lady_ , I basically cheated!" She _giggled_. It was a novel sight for the trio. Renata always held herself to a different, more serious, place so there was hardly every any childish giggles.

"Alright, I get it," Donna was beyond amused with the sight. "I mean, it wasn't really careless but I guess in _your_ eyes it was since you're usually always, uh..." She was going to finish that with 'uptight' but she didn't want to ruin Renata's mood.

"Yeah," Gabby crossed her arms. "It's just carefree fun from your perspective but fun nonetheless...I guess." Renata sure seemed to think so judging by the grin on her face. "So can we see the clock tomorrow? Or...are we leaving tonight?

"No, you still have to see the art room Henry promised," Renata pointed. She would make sure that Henry lived up to his promise. "And you're _going_ to see it. For right now, I think it's best if we all go to our rooms for some rest."

So, they dropped Donna off in her room first then Gabby - with the same warning for them _not_ to leave their rooms until morning - and finally Renata.

"Now I'm going to seriously ask that you make sure your door is closed," the Doctor said, even showing Renata how to check the door.

Renata laughed softly. "Yes, alright. But don't think just because you happened to be right this time that I'll always listen to you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor said, playfully rolling his eyes. He bid her goodnight and headed for his own room.

He wasn't planning on sleeping anyways but once his thoughts kept drifting to Renata and Henry, it was impossible to stay still. Hours passed by and he couldn't keep his thoughts from running away.

The idea of Henry trying to charm Renata was infuriating enough, but now he was thinking about what Renata said on their way back from the party. She had _fun_ with _Henry_? With _him_?

"I've taken you to see galaxies but you have fun with _him_?" the Doctor stopped pacing just to scoff.

 _Well, she wasn't endangered or anything._ _She probably didn't have to run for her life._ The voice in his head started making some good points. _She definitely hadn't nearly fallen off a building or was carried off by a space butterfly net._

"Aren't you supposed to be on _my_ side?" he frowned and looked up as if the voice was right above him. He exhaled. He was losing his mind.

_You lost your mind centuries ago._

The Doctor's face fell flat for a few seconds until an idea struck him. He started grinning in the next moment. "No point trying to get it back. Might as well do something good without a mind." It's what he did best.

~0~

Renata was nowhere near asleep when someone knocked on her door. At first she thought it was Henry himself coming for her, an idea that enraged her and had her storming towards the doors to give him a piece of her mind, but then she heard the Doctor's soft call.

She opened the door to find him on the other side. "Doctor, what are you doing?"

"Same as you, not tired," he said and looked over her party gown.

Renata self consciously wrapped an arm around herself. "...I like the gown."

"It suits you, Marchioness," the Doctor smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just thinking...how's about we have a little adventure on our own?" he quirked an eyebrow at her, reminding her too much of the way his first incarnation would often pull the same stunt.

"I...I...what do you mean? Where to?" And there _she_ went doing the same thing her first incarnation would do: be curious about the shenanigan the Doctor had in mind.

"I know that the King has a royal library all to himself. It's chock-full of books and other little trinkets he has around. You want to check it out?" The Doctor watched the curiosity fill Renata's eyes and, he dared to think, temptation. There was a small thrill that came with his idea and he loved it. He hadn't felt that kind of thrill in...in a very long time.

Unknowingly to the Doctor, Renata was thinking the same thing. It was the same old story no matter how much time passed. She would be doing whatever was expected of her, _he_ would show up with a crazy idea, she'd pretend like it didn't interest her, he would persuade her...and then they would go off to do that crazy idea.

"We might get caught..." she weakly argued, but she knew it was a lost cause when the Doctor smirked.

"We might...or might not be..." he held his hand out for her and despite everything screaming that it was a bad idea, Renata took his hand. The Doctor pulled her out and smiled at her little yelp. He reached past her to close her door and then the two were off.

Renata felt like a child the way she kept giggling. It was why they almost got caught in one of the hallways. The Doctor had to pull them against the wall and motion her to keep quiet. They kept themselves pressed against the wall until the guard passed.

And then the run began again.

The Doctor kept a tight hold on Renata's hand all the way to the library's hallway. He poked his head into the new hallway and saw two guards posted in front of the library doors.

Renata poked her head beside the Doctor's and made a face at the two guards. "He needs _two_ guards to watch his library? Who would want to steal his books?" The Doctor said nothing but slowly turned his head at her to make her re-evaluate her words. What were they trying to do again? She flushed when she got it. "Oh...right."

"It's no problem," the Doctor pulled out his sonic from his coat and pointed it at the end of the hallway.

One whir of the sonic caused a decorative table to lose its structure and break down. Renata flinched when the table legs hit the ground and the glassy smashed. The guards quickly rushed towards it thinking an intruder was afoot...and they were.

"And now!" the Doctor grabbed Renata's hand and scurried down the hallway together. The guards were too focused on the broken table to see either Time Lord sneak into the library.

Renata was in full blown laughter once they were safely inside. "I can't believe we just did that!"

"Me neither," the Doctor admitted after sonicking the doors shut. He turned around to face the giggling Time Lady and fondly smiled at her. "I'm impressed. Didn't think you had it in you."

"Oh I am full of surprises!" she wagged a finger at him then turned around to get a better look of where they were.

The library was a grand room with marbleized flooring. There were shelves and shelves of books. There were several arm chairs around the room, indicating that there was only one person allowed inside.

"Ah, those are...interesting..." Renata stopped exploring when she found a few animal heads mounted on the wall.

The Doctor came up behind her and gazed at the big ole bear head. "Henry's really big on hunting."

"And jousting," Renata's comment made the Doctor give her a glance. "He mentioned you and him used to joust. I can certainly picture that."

The Doctor smirked proudly. "We'd get a little competitive."

"You two were good friends before I came along. I would hate for your friendship to end because of me." With a sigh, Renata moved away from the Doctor.

"Oh...no, Renée," he went after her to clarify where he stood with Henry, "Look, Henry and I _are_ friends but we both know what happens to his behavior in his later years. That's not really the Henry I met. The Henry I knew was far different than this old greedy, grubby version. He was fun. We used to have exquisite conversations about music and art. You should've seen us, Renée."

"Sorry," Renata still felt compelled to say, not for her or their situation but because it sounded like the Doctor was still upset over the loss of the Henry he knew years ago.

"Ah, don't worry. I've got new friends," he smiled at her and turned her for the bookshelves. "And one of my friends happens to enjoy sneaking about with me, _so_..." He grinned when Renata huffed in outrage.

"I do _not_!"

"You're here, aren't you?"

Renata's eyes followed him as he went down an aisle of bookshelves. He dragged his hands along either shelf, picking out books at random.

"Want a peek?" he tauntingly waved a book at her.

Renata thought he looked incredibly handsome right now. She needed to push those thoughts away. With a deep breath, she walked up to him and snatched the book from his hands. "Wipe that smug smile off your face," she said calmly and walked around him.

"Me? Smug? I would never!" He turned after her.

Renata took advantage of the entire room. She peeked at every book she could get her hands on, finding the humans' early concept of writing simply fascinating. Many things were wrong, which she pointed out to the Doctor, but the mere fact that the humans wrote with such confidence and research was heartwarming.

"Even in such primitive times they work _so_ hard," she remarked after going through one of the astrological notes Henry had collected. "I mean it's _wrong_ but, all the same...it's admiring."

"I told you humans are fascinating," the Doctor came up behind her with a handheld mirror.

"Too bad Henry, as educated as he actually is, he's also a bit conceded," Renata held the tip of the handheld mirror and gave it a light wave. "Not to mention a coldhearted murderer."

"Mm," the Doctor could only hum in agreement.

Renata returned the notes to its proper place. Meanwhile, the Doctor drifted towards one of the shelves on the right.

"Oh, have we gone to Paris for an opera show?" he suddenly asked after pulling out a opera somebody had written for Henry.

"What?" Renata laughed shortly.

"I'm thinking we should go one of these days."

Renata continued to laugh. "You at an _opera_? Forgive me for laughing but I don't think you could handle staying quiet."

"I could too!" the Doctor frowned, but she kept on laughing.

She backtracked with a hand on her stomach. "I don't...I don't think-"

The Doctor's eyes widened when he saw she was approaching one of the tables. "Renée!"

But it was too late, Renata's back pushed the table and tipped it over. She stopped laughing the moment she heard the crash of the ground. "Oh no!" she gasped with a hand over her mouth.

"Quick, hide!" she heard the Doctor exclaim and without thinking, the pair ran behind the first aisle of shelves. They took position at each end of the shelves.

The same guards from before came running into the room.

"Who's there!?" one of them demanded while the second guard studied the broken table.

"Just like before," he murmured.

"I think it's one of the drinkers from the feast," the first guard said. "Probably out of his mind. Come on out!"

Renata tried her best not to make any noises, especially because she felt like her hearts were about to implode under her chest. She threw a look at the Doctor at the end of the bookshelf, asking him what were they going to do. But of course he had a plan. He always made up plans to get them out just before they would get caught. If they evaded the Time Lords, they could surely evade 16th century human guards.

' _On my signal,'_ he mouthed to her. She nodded fervently. He aimed his sonic at the window and with one flick, the entire window shattered.

"Over there!" the second guard ran straight for it, prompting the first guard to leave the table forgotten.

The Doctor made a nod at Renata to go now. The two ran straight for the open doors as fast as they could. They joined hands as soon as they got into the hallway and continued to run.

Suddenly, Renata saw them running down the hallway of the academy after nearly getting caught wandering through the classes and prohibited rooms for students. And it made her hearts _sore_. She felt as carefree as she used to be with the Doctor as Zuriah. They were young, they were full of adrenaline and...they were in love.

Even the Doctor got the faint sense that this was all familiar, a bit _too_ familiar, but the running made him push the thought to the side for now. He yanked Renata down the hallway of her bedroom and finally slowed down.

"That was incredible!" Renata was laughing melodically beside him. She brought a hand up to her hair bun that was on the verge of falling apart from all their running. She yelped in surprise when the Doctor gently brought her from her side to his front. Her free hand had come to rest over his chest and her other hand seemed locked under the Doctor's free hand.

"You had fun?" the Doctor asked quietly though with his ragged breathing it came out a little louder than intended. They were both still trying to catch their breaths, they could feel it. Renata felt the Doctor's chest heaving up and down under her hand and since Renata's chest was pressed to his, the Doctor could feel her own heavy breathing.

"Of course..." Renata swallowed down and laughed, hoping the air would fill her lungs soon. "I always have fun with you!" She had no idea what her words meant to the Doctor, especially right now. All she saw was his grin making its mark on his face. "Maybe tomorrow we can, uh, _I_ can show you the, uh...the..." She was beginning to lose her train of thought the more she stared at the Doctor.

Yet another thing he used to do during their adventures back then.

He really did have gorgeous eyes, didn't he? They were the same from his first incarnation, honestly, with the only difference being the years that'd gone by. His eyes was how he charmed his way into her life and got her to break the rules. He never had to force her; he claimed there was a little part of her that _wanted_ to have fun and be carefree, he only helped her come out. She wasn't _all_ 'uptight' as each of her incarnations had been, she did like to have to fun and forget about the rules sometimes.

Like right now.

Right now the proper thing to do was to step away from the Doctor and bid him goodnight, but she wasn't doing either thing. In fact, it seemed like they were even closer now than they were a few seconds ago. The Doctor had lowered his head to meet her gaze and if he moved just a bit forwards, their lips would meet too.

Right now, the right thing to do was to leave.

 _'If we were alone,_ _I might just kiss you...'_ The thought of when they were dancing came rushing back, but Renata was too far-gone to blush about it.

And the thoughts running in the Doctor's head weren't making him want to pull away anytime soon. He just kept thinking about her running with him, sneaking into a forbidden room, their talks while they got around the room. It was irrelevant conversations but it was the fact that she was playing along with his ridiculous plan that made his hearts swell. Donna probably would've been bored out of her mind and Gabby would've opted for a much calmer plan. Renata just understood him, even if it was hard for her sometimes. She went along with his conversations, even comforting him with something as indifferent as his old friendship with King Henry.

Something about it was familiar but it wasn't what was bringing him closer to Renata. He was just drawn to her whether he could see it or not, and up until now he hadn't seen it. Now that he had...her lips looked far too taunting to let them go.

Renata's breath hitched the moment the Doctor let his lips brush over hers and whether she would've gasped or not she didn't know because she just let him kiss her right there. She let his hand go and brought it to his chest while he lowered his hand to her waist. He kissed her gently, keeping it slow and sweet, unknowingly the same as the very first time they had kissed centuries ago. Later on, Renata would find it ironic that even _that_ was the same. As seconds ticked by, they found their (old) sync and moved their lips with one another like it was a slow dance. Renata felt her body tingle when the Doctor's hand reached up to the nape of her neck where her loose bun was about to be undone. He pulled lightly on the strands to then run his fingers through them, eventually making the whole bun come down. It didn't matter; it just gave the Doctor an easier access to her curls.

But a few seconds later, the two heard the running footsteps down the next hall.

Renata pushed herself away from the Doctor, eyes wide in alarm and not just because of what happened. "You gotta go! They'll catch us!"

As much as he would love to stay with her, he had to agree. Getting caught would completely ruin the night (and it had been such a _good_ night). "Go into your room quick."

Renata nodded and ushered him to run. "Go! Run, Doctor!"

He smiled as if asking her ' _When, don't I_?' then took off. Renata hurried into her own room, closing the door just as she heard guards came by. They were still searching for the 'drunk' who'd snuck into the King's private room.

Renata quietly laughed to herself and came up to the side of her bed. She wasn't sleepy before but now there was no way she could ever shut her eyes. She pushed herself back against the bed's headboard and deeply exhaled.

 _You're an idiot_ , she concluded but there wasn't a part of her that was sad about it. Being an idiot led to such a fun moment, a fun night...and a pretty good ending. Her fingers brushed over her lips and soon found herself smiling.

~ 0 ~

The next morning, Renata walked into the Great Hall for breakfast and was amazed at how clean it was after such a night. It didn't even look like there'd been a party last night. She was about to choose her seat when Queen Anne called for her.

"Marchioness Renata, join me," she patted the empty spot next to her.

Renata read the room and instantly knew that this wasn't something the Queen would do often, but she still gave a nod and headed for the chair Anne motioned to. "Good morning, your Majesty," she did the customary bow and took a seat.

"Morning," Anne studied the nervous shift Renata did every few seconds. "I must say, your hair is looks far better when it's not in that strict, tight bun."

"What?" Renata's hand instinctively flung to her wavy curls left down today. "Oh, uh...thank you." A blush ran across her face at the reason why she'd left her hair completely alone. She could still feel the Doctor's fingers going through it at times. "Left it on a whim."

Anne smiled and reached for a piece of bread to place on her tray. "I'm sure."

It was then that Renata realized that Anne must still be thinking that she was after the King, her husband. She swallowed hard and shifted in her chair. "Your Majesty, I know there must be some terrible rumors out there about me and, uh, the King, but I assure you that I am _not_ looking for a husband. I have no interest in becoming a...a mistress." Even the word disgusted her and Anne must have seen it too because she laughed.

"Well of I course I know!"

Renata froze in her seat, her eyes blinking rapidly for a few seconds. "...you...you _know_?"

Anne sobered from her laugh to smile. "Of course I do. I mean, I did suspect in the beginning but after seeing you at the celebration I knew my suspicions were misplaced."

"Wh-wh-what made you think that?"

Anne gave Renata a specific look that, while it took Renata few minutes to read, made it seem like the answer was obvious. "Lady Renata, I know what the rumors say about _me_ , but I assure you that I _am_ smart. I may not be smart about English culture but I know my German culture very well. You are not interested in my husband because your heart belongs to the Doctor. I saw the way you looked at him last night while you were dancing, and no woman looks at a man like that without loving him."

Renata's mouth opened but instead of saying words, all that came out was a heavy exhale. "Oh, you are...you are very perceptive."

Anne smiled knowingly. "I am. I also know when my husband is trying to find a woman. I am no fool. I know that he does not want me for a wife any longer. I shall expect the annulment very soon but I will _not_ end up like his previous wives. The mistake they all did was to say no. I will not do the same."

"You're going to let him annul your marriage," Renata said quietly, _almost_ feeling bad for her if Henry wasn't as bad as he actually was. It would be freedom when Anne got her settlement.

"Of course," Anne nodded. "So you see, even if you _had_ been interested in becoming the next Queen of England, I would not have been that upset."

"But I'm not!" Renata quickly said, as if Anne would go back to thinking that. "I'm really, really _not_!"

Anne chuckled. "Yes, I noted that. Can I ask you something, though?"

"Of course."

Anne leaned closer to speak in a hushed whisper, "You and the Doctor are not from around here, are you? And those 'sisters' you say...are not your sisters, right?"

Renata's eyes once again widened. "How...why would you say that?"

"Because I have seen some of the portraits that Henry commissioned years ago and while Henry has aged...the Doctor has not. And the last time I remembered, there is no Marchioness of Gallifrey."

"Ah, well," Renata pressed the skirt of her gown, unsure of how to move on from here.

"Do not worry, I have no interest in outing you. Why would I? You seem so like your are so much fun!"

"Me?" Renata's eyes snapped up to meet Anne's. "You think _I'm_ fun?"

"Yes! You seem to know what you want, you know what you're doing-"

Renata had to laugh this time. "Oh, your Majesty, you've got it all wrong!"

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor, Donna and Gabby came into the room, the first thing they spotted was Renata conversing with the Queen. She was smiling, looking as if she'd just been laughing. The Doctor thought she looked exceptionally beautiful today. Even the sun seemed to shine bright over her like she was a goddess.

"Well, you two seem better," Donna's remark pulled the Doctor out of his thoughts. He blinked away from Renata and noticed that Gabby was already on her way to sit next to her. Donna had stuck around to study her best friend. "She's not scowling and you've got your idiot face back on."

"Idiot fa - what!?" the Doctor frowned at her.

Donna smirked. "It's true, moving on. I take you talked at some point in the night?"

The Doctor immediately coughed as if he actually had something stuck in his throat. It was loud enough to pull Renata's attention and see him and Donna lingering by the entrance.

"I wonder what Donna said this time," Gabby remarked beside Renata.

Renata smiled lightly. "Oh, I bet she said something alright. That's Donna...and that's the Doctor."

"I'm just glad you guys are okay now...you _are_ better now, right?"

Renata felt her face warm up so she did her best to keep it hidden from Gabby. She couldn't do the same with the Queen. "We, uh, we are." And she would leave it at that because even _she_ was having trouble putting her thoughts in order. She would have to at some point.

"Your Majesty," the Doctor came by with Donna at his side.

"Doctor," the Queen gave him the nod to take a seat.

He was quick to do so and once he was comfortable, he flashed Renata and Gabby a smile. "Ladies." He met Renata's gaze and let his smile linger with hers.

~ 0 ~

"Oh, so _this_ is the famous clock," Donna cocked her head to the side as she followed the movements of the clock hanging on the wall.

"I think it's pretty!" Gabby exclaimed and glanced at Renata and the Doctor, the two of them standing next to each other. "I can see why you wanted to show us."

"I thought it was beautiful and the fact it's _handmade_ is another reason to admire it," Renata smiled contently. The astronomical clock would certainly be her favorite thing she saw in this trip.

"Certainly," the Doctor agreed. He would give Henry his credit where it was due. The clock was built beautifully and correctly. But that was _all_ that he would give the King. And speaking of...

"Ah, Lady Renata," King Henry approached the group, choosing to ignore everyone else but the blonde Marchioness. "You disappeared last night from the celebration."

"Did I?" Renata scratched her cheek, feigning confusion. She remembered that she specifically tried to avoid him last night, and today as well.

"And then you spent all morning with my wife," Henry said so as if Renata should be ashamed for wasting her time. "Surely that could not have been pleasurable."

"Actually, her Majesty is quite interesting," Renata smiled and glanced at the others. They agreed with simultaneous nods. Renata and Anne seemed to get along now that their intentions were clear. "And contrary to what you told me, her Majesty is _very_ educated. I think you failed to mention that she knows plenty German."

Henry rolled his eyes. "My Lady, let us not waste breaths on the Queen. I have appointed you a new bedchamber far more appropriate for you."

"Oh, uh, we are actually..."

"We're leaving today, Henry," the Doctor said seriously. "We were actually going to leave right after lunch."

"What? But the Marchioness has agreed to stay here," Henry met Renata's surprised expression quite well as he did not look the least bit guilty for making up the lie on the spot. His eyes practically ordered her to agree.

With a huff, she responded, "I most certainly did _not_. I specifically said I would not because we had to go to London."

"Surely you cannot be choosing to go to London over-"

"I said this before!" Renata exclaimed with another huff. "Did you not listen to any of my words!?"

"Probably not," the Doctor muttered. "My good friend Henry has selective hearing."

Henry scoffed. "Listen Doctor, stay out of my royal business. This is between the Marchioness and myself."

"It's really not," the Doctor scowled at the King. "I am here to assist the Marchioness and her sisters-"

"Oh please! We all know that's not true! You're after the Marchioness too!"

"Hey!" Renata cut in and placed herself between the two. "The Marchioness _can_ speak for herself, you know!?"

"Shouldn't we help Ren?" Gabby whispered to Donna but the ginger was keenly watching the trio.

"No...I'm interested..."

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, I do _not_ care for the fact you're making up lies. I thanked you for your offer but I didn't accept. I _am_ leaving with the Doctor and my sisters today."

Henry shot a glare at Renata and the Doctor. "The King decrees you shall not."

"Excuse me?" Renata almost laughed but when she looked at Henry's face that wasn't lightening up. "You're...you're actually serious?"

"He is, Renée," the Doctor took her hand and tightly held it. "Because that's basically how he gets what he wants."

"That did not seem to bother you in our old times," Henry was quick to say, smirking as if he'd just proven a good point.

"Because you weren't talking about _people_!" snapped the Doctor. "You were talking about _food_! Books! Not people! Renata is not somebody you can snap your fingers to get!"

"When you are the King of England you can."

"I will not stand here and be insulted," Renata scowled. She felt her body warm up but it wasn't the good type of warm she'd felt with the Doctor, it was the sicky warm type she experienced when the visited Agatha Christie. She checked her fingers and was mortified to once again see the golden wisps of energy rising. She balled them up quickly. "Doctor, I...I don't feel so well..."

The Doctor side-glanced to see her face incredibly pale, not to mention her hand in his had become excessively warm. "Hey," he turned to her and cupped her face. Her eyes were blinking rapidly and he swore he saw something gold flicker past them.

"Hands off, Doctor," Henry ordered. "Or I shall call my guards and have them escort you and the sisters out of my castle!"

"Oh screw off!" the Doctor snapped, shocking the King.

"Doctor, we should get her back to the TARDIS," Gabby quickly said, her mind already going to dangerous scenarios with Renata's health.

"She is not going anywhere!" the King insisted but the Doctor threw him a glare that stopped him for a moment.

"We are leaving and you have no say in that!"

"Do not forget who I am, Doctor," Henry said just before he started calling for the guards.

"Doctor, we should run! Like now!" Donna exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's...run!" he told them. He grabbed Renata's hand and pulled them into a run. Renata was _eternally_ grateful that the golden energy was gone by then.

"Gabby, I am so sorry I couldn't show you the art room!" Renata found time to apologize during their run.

"That's okay!" Gabby quickly said, yelping when one of the guards started shooting. "All forgotten! Let's just go!"

"Do you think we can make it!?" Renata cried after nearly tripping on one of her feet. These dresses were not made for running away! "You couldn't have let Henry believe for a minute that he'd won so we could have a head start!?"

"Oh, so this is _my_ fault now!?" the Doctor threw her an indignant glance.

"No, well...maybe!? I don't know - I don't feel well!"

"Oh God, get a room later but for now just RUN!" Donna's shout echoed through the forest as they all ran their very best from the guards chasing them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter like you wouldn't believe it. It's possibly my favorite chapter of this story! I've been watching the Netflix show 'Elite' and my favorite character is the daughter of a marchioness and I just couldn't stop thinking that Renata was the perfect OC to fit the title on! Whaddya think?
> 
> Aaaaaand they kissed! Stupid idiots, but they kissed! It'll continue to pop up in the next chapters! And speaking of...ladies and gents, from here on out we are reaching the end of this story. I'm just going to tell you right now that I am not doing Midnight. I tried fitting it in with what this story is going to have but...I couldn't do it. After what happens in the next chapters, I just could NOT see either Time Lord going on the Midnight train. But I do make it up by adding a few original chapters towards the end (warning it's a lot of angst!).
> 
> So...just be ready for the next chapter :))


	22. The Future Comes Across

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After visiting King Henry VIII, the Doctor doesn’t know how to confront Renata about what happened between them. Renata’s continued silence only makes the Doctor even more nervous. But, there’s more to Renata’s silence than he believes and instead of finding an easier way to come clean to him, Renata comes across...River Song.

It was a rare sight to see the Doctor so silent and only looking at a screen. Donna didn't think she'd ever seen him like that, which made it harder to break his concentration. She'd tiptoed into the console room, careful not to be heard as she came up behind him. And that's when she saw what he was looking at on the screen.

_Ginger hair and freckles._ "Is that her?" her soft voice was still enough to make the Doctor jump. Donna didn't mind that he'd swooped to shut down the screen, almost bonking his head along the corner in the process. Donna had seen enough to understand. "That was her, wasn't it? Zuriah? The girl you used to love?"

The Doctor didn't say anything as he moved away from Donna. She watched him walk slowly around the console,, his head hanging low. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you. But...if it counts for anything… she's really pretty."

A light smile spread across the Doctor's face. "Yeah, she was…"

Donna smiled with him. "We're you just remembering her?" The Doctor was about to shake his head but something stopped him midway. Donna studied his unusual expression and ultimately had to ask what was wrong. "You know I won't say anything."

At that, the Doctor smiled again. "It's stupid."

"If it's what's making that face I don't think it is."

The Doctor sighed. "It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?"

"Zuriah...Renata…" he closed his eyes and let his back lean against the console, "Ever since the whole Agatha Christie incident I can't stop thinking about the moment I kissed Renata." And he wouldn't even mention the kiss they shared a few days ago in Hampton Court Palace. It still made his insides warm up like there was no tomorrow.

"Aah," Donna was fast to smirk.

"I've just been thinking, realizing, that it was very familiar. Everything between Renata and I...it's just _so_ familiar."

"You mean...Renata reminded you of Zuriah?" Donna tilted her head. It was a fair thing considering the two women had been friends long ago. Except, it was one thing was to be reminded of Zuriah because of the friendship she shared with Renata and another thing was to remember Zuriah by kissing her friend.

"I know, it doesn't make sense and it's plain awful that I'm doing this," the Doctor leaned away from the console. He couldn't figure it out. He was just so confused and it was driving him crazy. Worst of all was that he didn't have the courage to talk to Renata about it, at least not yet. It'd been a few days since the whole King Henry visit and while they had shared a wonderful moment, neither seemed to be able to talk about it afterwards. They were still close, they were good friends, but...something wasn't right. It pained the Doctor that Renata wouldn't talk about their kiss, that she wouldn't mention their night adventure through the palace. Had she regretted it? Was she being kind and just ignoring it? Moving on from it?

The Doctor felt his hearts stop each time he thought about Renata moving on from that kiss. Donna was right, he was smitten with Renata. He was _so_ smitten with her.

"Doctor?" Donna called his name when his face had turned pale. "Hey, are you okay?"

"No, no I'm not," he exhaled deeply as he let his body lean against the console. "Oh, Donna. You were right."

"I was," Donna nodded her head firmly before asking, "What was I right about?"

"I like Renata. I _really_ like her and right now...I'm going crazy."

Donna's eyes widened. She thought she would have to work at least a few more weeks to crack the Doctor, but it seems like Renata took care of that already. "Oh, um...well, at least you admit it. That's a good step. Honestly, it wasn't that hard to tell. Anyone could see it."

"Yeah?" the Doctor glanced at her. "What do you think about Renata, then? You think she...reciprocates these...feelings?"

Donna scoffed. " _Please_! It's _so_ obvious, Doctor! I don't know how you missed it! The way she looks at you! All those little smiles she gives you! _How_ could you have missed it? Well, I suppose the same way she missed the fact you like her too! For two people who are so smart, you sure are dumb!"

"Alright, alright, I get it," the Doctor rolled his eyes. Leave it to Donna to make him smile right now.

"So what are you going to do? Ask her out on a date? Oh, how about-"

"Donna, we kissed. We kissed and now I don't know how to talk to her about it," the Doctor found himself blurting. He couldn't picture himself having this type of talk with anyone, but Donna gave him a sense of security. She would keep his secrets just like he imagined Gabby kept Renata's. He wondered if Renata had told Gabby about their kiss...

"Wow, you work fast!" Donna laughed.

"It's not all so good. I haven't been able to talk to her about it and now I'm wondering if it's even worth doing it," the Doctor sighed. "If she hasn't talked to me about it then...wouldn't that mean she _doesn't_ want to talk about it?

"Not precisely. Could just be that Renata's nervous about it," Donna shrugged. "I've had loads of friends do that."

"So then how do I talk to her about it?"

"Well, first you gotta know _what_ you want to to tell her. I have seen _so_ many relationships fail because the bloke has no idea what he wants. That's a sure way to make a woman angry. What _do_ you want with Renata?"

The Doctor exhaled at the question. If he was being honest with himself, the first thing he would want from Renata was to kiss her again. He'd want nothing more than to kiss her and for a longer time than their previous one had been. "I do want something with her but I also confess that...that I'm concerned."

"Concerned about what?" Donna asked curiously.

"That everything about her is so familiar. It's not fair to her that I keep thinking about Zuriah. And then I don't know _why_ I keep thinking back to Zuriah."

"Maybe you just need some time to sort your head out," Donna suggested. He wouldn't be the first man to be confused between two women, even if one was a ghost.

"I guess..." the Doctor sighed. He might just be horrible though because even though he was confused, he knew that he _did_ want Renata. He wanted her _now_. It made it incredibly hard to keep his hands from touching her during these past days. He even struggled not to keep looking at her after what was considered normal. He had no idea how Renata was so normal. Actually, maybe he did. She was trained to keep her emotions inside and she was damn good at it.

The Doctor didn't know if she was acting normal because she'd moved on from their kiss or if she was just faking. It was driving him crazy! He needed to figure something out soon because he didn't know how much longer he could last like this.

~ 0 ~

Renata was completely enamored with their current location. It was a _huge_ library that was literally the _planet_. "This is it," she murmured as she made her way through the reception area. "This is literally my favorite trip."

"We've only been here for 2 minutes," Gabby pointed out but Renata waved her off.

"I don't care. This is my favorite one. It's so big, it's full of books, it's quiet and...normal..." Renata turned to the Doctor, allowing him to view her wide-eyed expression. " _Why_ did it take you so long to show me this place?"

The Doctor smiled a tight smile, one that Renata discreetly noticed. She could only guess what was running through his head. She inwardly sighed to herself. She was ruining things, she knew she was but she was _such_ a coward...and scared. She was _so_ scared.

After their kiss in King Henry VIII's palace, Renata knew there was no way she could keep up her charade with the Doctor. That was ruined the moment she let him put his lips on hers. She loved him too much and the fact _he_ had chosen to kiss her meant that he was starting to feel something for her...but the wrong her. She would truly be the worst type of woman if she allowed the Doctor to develop feelings for this version of her when he didn't know who she really was. That's where she drew the line. She would hurt him even more if she let him believe he was falling for a different woman. But she was so scared to tell him the truth. She had lied for too long that he was definitely react badly to it. It was his right to. He had been fed too many lies, one after the other, that the only thing he should do with her was to throw her out of the TARDIS. Just thinking about it broke Renata's hearts, but she knew she had no right to protest.

If she was being honest, she was disgusted with herself. For too long she had hidden and lied and it was only now that she realized she only set up the path that would hurt the man she loved most. It seemed like she was always destined to hurt the Doctor. Renata hated herself. Every day, she hated herself a little bit more.

"This is the 51st century, right?" Renata crossed the reception, leading the group through a door that would bring them to quite a view. She needed to control her feelings right now. She was secretly flexing her fingers as the familiar warmth spread through them. That energy was getting stronger, like it wanted to burst. "You know, I'm not much of a future girl but I do like the fact that this Century has holovids, direct to brain downloads and fiction mist."

"What? You get a book download into your head?" Donna tapped the side of her own head.

"Yeah, I know, not all that great if you're old fashioned and want a physical copy."

"Oh wow," Donna came first to see the view ahead of them. She walked closer to the rail and saw endless aisles of bookshelves. "It truly _is_ a city!"

"The Library," the Doctor came up beside her to admire the view. "So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big 'the'."

"A library that's a planet!" Renata laughed as she came to the view as well. "Now this is fantastic!"

"It is," agreed the Doctor. "The whole core of the planet is the index computer, biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed. We're near the equator, so…" he licked his finger and raised it to the air, "This must be Biographies! I do love biographies!"

"Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end," Donna remarked. Gabby cleared her throat and gave her a pointed look. "Right," Donna murmured. The topic about death was a touchy one considering their uptight Time Lady still wasn't being honest about her own death arriving.

Renata had wandered away from the railing and sifted through some books, but she ultimately realized that they were very much _alone_. "It's so... silent," she remarked. "Where is everyone?"

The Doctor wondered the same thing. He found an information terminal and tinkered with it.

"Maybe it's a Sunday?" Donna said.

"No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."

"It _is_ library. Maybe everyone's really quiet," Gabby thought next.

**"** Yeah, maybe. But they'd still show up on the system," the Doctor murmured as he went deeper into the terminal's system.

"I'm beginning to think that there's something going on," Renata left the table of books she stopped by and walked over to the Doctor. "This wasn't your first choice of trips."

"It wasn't?" he repeated, not really paying her attention. The system was a bit difficult to get through.

"No. If I recall correctly, you mentioned something about a beach…"

"Did I?"

"Yeah, so why the sudden change?"

But the Doctor had finally found something worthwhile. "Now, that's interesting. I'm scanning for life forms. If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids - you know, your book readers, few limbs and a face - apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada, see?"

Renata gazed at the screen herself to confirm what he was saying. "Hm, nobody home I guess?"

"Right, but if I widen the parameters to any kind of life…" the Doctor went in again to change the settings and this time when the scan was done they got an _"error; .000; lifeform number capped at maximum record'_ on the screen. "A million million. Gives up after that. A million million."

"But... there's nothing here…" Gabby gave an unsettling look around the place. She was starting to get a bad feeling. "There's no-one."

"And not a sound," the Doctor added. "A million million life forms, and silence in the Library."

"But there's no-one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it?" Donna wanted to laugh but then she realized she'd seen crazier things before. "Wait...can the books be alive?"

Renata turned her head slowly at the nearest table of books. She wanted to think it was a crazy idea but, like Donna had also thought, they'd seen far crazier things already. She cautiously moved to the table and reached for a book, readying herself in case one of them snapped to bite her-

"Welcome!"

Renata actually yelled and snapped her hand back to her chest.

"It came from in there!" Gabby pointed in the direction they'd come from. They all bolted back and searched for the source of the unknown voice.

It turned out to be a Node, a statue with an actual face on its head. "I am Courtesy Node 710/aqua. Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers regardless of species or hygiene taboo."

Donna couldn't help but stare at its talking face. It was too creepy. "That face, it looks real."

The Doctor knew where she was getting at and wondered how badly it would get to her. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

"But a statue with a real face, though! It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"

"It's got to be," Gabby said instinctively but then shot a look at Renata when the doubt got to her. "Right?" Renata didn't say anything but the face she was making had all the answers. Gabby wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Oh, that's gross!"

**"** Additional," the Mode started up again. "There follows a brief message from the head librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. 'Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The Library has sealed itself, we can't...oh, they're here. Arg. Slarg. Snick.'" Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm units for the comfort of other readers."

"So that's why we're here…" the Doctor murmured. "Any other messages, same date stamp?"

"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of 5, 0, 11…"The Doctor could not deal with the legalities and hurried the Node along. "Message follows: 'Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember... if you want to live, count the shadows.' Message ends."

There was a collective fear that spread amongst the group.

"Everyone...stay out of the shadows," the Doctor warned as he himself made sure not to stand over a shadow that wasn't his.

"This is supposed to be a library - what could there be in the Shadows?" Renata could not believe that something as simple - as peaceful - as a library could be ruined.

The Doctor couldn't answer correctly, so he started leading them through another door to come across a huge aisle of bookshelves. It was several floors high, possibly endless since they couldn't even see the actual top.

"Alright Doctor, the jig is up," Donna said, shooting him all her suspicious looks. "We weren't just in the neighborhood. Why are we here?"

The Doctor supposed she was right. Better to start with the truth if they wanted to focus on figuring out what was wrong with the library. "Yeah, alright, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper."

"You did what!?" Renata groaned. She should've known better than to believe he would openly come to a place like this when the only adventure were the skyscraper bookshelves.

He showed them his psychic paper which had a message left for him. ' _The Library. Come as soon as you can. x'_

"What do you think? Cry for help?"

"Cry for help - with a kiss?" Gabby raised an eyebrow at him. "Looks more like a message for a date."

"Who's it from?" asked Renata with an unusual hardness in her tone.

"No idea."

"So then we have no idea if this has all just been a big ole trap?"

The Doctor briefly looked to the side. "Uuh…"

Renata groaned. "This is why we do environmental checks before we leave the TARDIS!"

"I didn't think we needed one! This is a library!"

"Those were the rumors until a statue told us to run!"

Gabby didn't want to listen to them bicker so she looked away, but in doing so she noticed that the lights were going out at the end of the corridor. "Uh, guys! The lights!"

The Doctor and Renata quit arguing to see what Gabby meant and we're equally horrified to see darkness coming towards them.

"Run!" the Doctor ordered before taking charge. They came to a locked door and despite attempting to use his sonic, it wouldn't budge. "Jammed! The wood's warped!"

"What? And the sonic doesn't work!?" Donna exclaimed.

"I can't, it's wood!"

"What?" Gabby nearly keeled over from shock. "That thing can do hundreds of things against aliens but it can't open a stupid wooden door!?"

"Dare I ask about mine?" Renata waved her own sonic in the air.

"I...wouldn't," the Doctor sighed and tried fiddling with his sonic again. There had to be something he could do. "Hang on, hang on, if I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings, I can shatterline the interface…"

Donna groaned. At this rate they would die faster. "Oh, get out of the way!" she shoved the man to the side and kicked the door open with all her might.

"Alright Donna!" Gabby laughed, impressed with their friend's quick thinking.

"Yeah, yeah, get in!" Renata ushered them in first then pulled the Doctor behind her.

Together they quickly shut the door and used a book to bolt it. When the Doctor turned around to see where they were, he found a small girl standing a few feet away.

"Oh! Hello! Sorry to burst on you like this. OK if we stop here for a bit?"

But the girl blinked and turned into a sphere instead.

"That's...new." Gabby blinked. "Can we expect more little girls turning into spheres?"

The Doctor, not amused with her question, shot her a momentary glare. He rushed to pick up the sphere and sonicked it. "Security camera. Switched itself off."

"Why would it switch off?" asked Renata when she joined him. It looked high tech, definitely something a library like this one would have.

Somewhere along the sonicking, the sphere gave a high pitched scream. It almost sounded like it was…

"Wait, stop!" Renata snag he'd the sphere from the Doctor's hands. "Look!" she turned it over from him to see the words running along its screen.

_'No, stop it, no, no!'_

"Ooh, I'm sorry!" the Doctor put the sonic away for the moment. Scanning it wouldn't be an option anymore. "I really am, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"It's alive," Renata carefully put the sphere back on the floor.

"I thought you said it was a security camera," Donna eyed the sphere as if it would move on them.

"It is. It's an alive one," the Doctor said.

"Look, it's saying something else," Gabby saw new words running across the screen. She bent down beside it to read aloud. "The others are coming?" she looked up at the alien pair, confused and a bit afraid. "Who are the 'others'?"

"I'm afraid to ask what that even means," sighed Donna who then noticed another Node in the room. "But I guess we'll have to." She walked up to it and, despite however creepy it was, she asked it a question. "Excuse me, what does it mean, "others"?"

"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you," the Doctor pointed out before she wasted more of her breath.

"So why's it got a face?"

The Node took care of the answer "This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death."

Donna leaned forwards when she thought she heard wrong. Even Gabby had gotten back on her feet to stare in horror.

"It's a real face?!" Donna almost shrieked.

"It has been actualized individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."

" _Enjoy?_ " Gabby repeated.

"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like?" Donna turned away from the Node, almost outraged. "That statue's got a real dead person's face on it…"

"Unfortunately that's not so uncommon here in the 51st century," Renata said with a crinkled nose.

"I want to leave now," Gabby resolved and turned away from the Node as well. She was about to walk away when the Doctor shouted for her to stop. He dove forwards to yank her in the opposite direction.

"What!? Ah!" she pushed him away in fear.

"The shadow, look!"

She'd been about to step on a dark shadow behind her. "What about it?"

"Count the shadows."

"One. There, I counted it, one shadow."

"Gabby you're not getting it," Renata seemed a bit more afraid than usual. "If that's a shadow...what's casting it?"

Gabby froze with wide eyes. Donna quickly looked around her immediate area to see if there was another unaccounted Shadow nearby.

"Oh! I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick!" the Doctor banged a few fingers against his head. "Head's too full of stuff, I need a bigger head!"

"I think the world would literally explode," Renata couldn't help make the remark. It did elicit a smile from him though, a rather nice one.

They followed the Doctor towards a corridor and saw that it was pitch dark except for one lamp still blinking.

_**"**_ Power must be going," Donna concluded.

"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun," the Doctor said.

"Then why is it dark?"

"...it's not dark."

Donna went wide-eyed and turned away, only when she did she realized that the shadow Gabby had nearly stepped on was no longer there. "That shadow. It's gone."

That was it for the Doctor. "We need to get back to the TARDIS." Of course for Gabby and Donna it was very weird behavior.

"Why?" asked Gabby.

"Because that shadow hasn't gone. It's moved."

"Doctor, I don't like this place anymore," Renata was frantically searching for more Shadows trying to literally creep up on them.

"Reminder," the Node started again, "The Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached…"

Another door in the room flung open and allowed six people - dressed in white spacesuits - inside. One of them, presumed to be the leader, walked straight to the Doctor, an action that made the man backtrack a couple steps.

The spacesuited person switched their visor to transparent to show their face. A woman with ashy brown hair and blue eyes smiled at him. "Hello sweetie."

Renata raised an eyebrow at her, but the Doctor had only gotten the fact that there were 6 unidentified humans trespassing into a dangerous place. "Get out!" he ordered them. "All of you, turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away! Tell your grandchildren you came to the Library and lived, they won't believe you!"

The woman inside the spacesuit paid him no attention and turned to her crew instead. "Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers." At her command, everyone removed their helmets.

"How do you know they're not androids?" one of the females in the crew asked her.

"Cos I've dated androids. They're rubbish."

A bald man went straight to the group, looking just as displeased with them as the Doctor was with the crew. "Who is this? You said we were the only expedition, I paid for exclusives."

The woman shrugged. "I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others."

"Miss Evangelista," the man barked at a petite woman. "I want to see the contracts."

"You came through the north door, yeah?" the ashy-brown haired woman asked the Doctor. "How's that, much damage?"

"Please, just leave," the Doctor went flat with his tone. "I'm asking you seriously and properly, just lea... Hang on. Did you say expedition?"

"My expedition, I funded it," the bald man made sure to clarify it.

"And how are you feeling about it?" Renata questioned him since she was sure they'd probably come across the fearsome shadows.

"Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists," the Doctor rubbed his face in frustration. That's the last thing he needed.

"Got a problem with archaeologists?" the lead woman asked from him, sounding amused.

The Doctor dropped his hands to his side. "I'm a time traveler. I point and laugh at archaeologists."

"Well that's not nice," Gabby chuckled. The woman spared her a look that wasn't too...kind. It quieted Gabby down in seconds.

"Who are you?" asked Donna. She wasn't given any type of look.

"Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist."

"River Song, lovely name. As you're leaving, and you're leaving now... you need to set up a quarantine beacon," the Doctor turned her around for the nearest door. "Code-wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again... not one living thing, not here, not ever."

"Wait, stop!" he heard Renata cry. He'd turned to see one of the female crew members had nearly stepped on a shadow. "Trust me, you don't want to go anywhere near a shadow. "What's your name?"

"Anita," the woman responded shakily.

"Anita, stay out of the shadows, alright?"

"Yeah, we got that," River cut in, sounding a bit irritated with Renata. Like Gabby - though _more_ \- Renata was getting a similar cold look.

"She's right," the Doctor agreed with Renata. "Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared."

"Those aren't very good instructions," Gabby remarked.

The Doctor could agree but he worked with what he had. He suddenly pointed at another man of the crew. "You, who are you?"

"Uh, Dave."

"OK, Dave-"

"Oh, well Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot-" he pointed to the last man of the crew, "-he was the first Dave, so when we…"

The Doctor didn't want to listen anymore, not when their lives were in danger. He grabbed Other Dave and walked them to the open door. "Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?"

"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."

"How much darker?"

"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."

The Doctor took that as the red alarm it was. "Seal up this door. We'll find another way out."

"We're not looking for a way out," the bald man said in a snark.

"Oh, so you _want_ to die," Renata said as the only logical reason behind his choice.

The man glared at her but called for the petite woman from before. "Miss Evangelista?"

Miss Evangelista gathered the travelers together to hand them each a pile of papers. "I'm Mr. Lux's personal... everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the Library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."

"Humans," Renata looked at the Doctor and this time he couldn't really say anything to her. Instead, he ripped up the contract, prompting the others to do the same.

Lux nearly lost it at their outright disrespect. "My family built this Library. I have rights!"

"You have a mouth that won't stop," River promptly corrected and turned to the Doctor with a sweet smile, as if she hadn't just been rude. "You think there's danger here?"

The Doctor's expression was flat. Was he not being clear when he tried throwing them out? Did he have to speak louder? He cleared his throat and went ahead and explained one more time, "Something came to this Library and killed everything in it, killed a whole world. Danger? Could be."

"But that was 100 years ago. The Library's been silent for 100 years. Whatever came here is long dead."

"Or it's just something that's really patient," Renata offered an alternative she believed could be very true. Unfortunately, River ignored her.

"What are you doing?" Lux asked Other Dave when he caught the man locking up the door.

"He said seal the door!"

"Torch!" the Doctor said right before snatching a torch from Lux's hand.

"You're taking orders from him?" Lux glared at his crew member for the blatant disobedience.

"Spooky, isn't it?" the Doctor found the time to smirk at Lux as he walked to the other side of the room. There were so many things he could look through, but he doubted one of them would give him an idea of how to get everybody out of there unharmed. "Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong. Cos it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

"Vastha _what_?" Gabby raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh not that…" Renata brought a hand to cover her mouth. That was seriously the last thing they needed. That lesson she learned very fast in the academy - mostly because it had scared the living daylights out of her.

"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked the same question in hopes of finally getting the answer.

"Bad, just very bad," Renata dropped her hand to her side. "It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark. So it makes it harder to fight...I'd rather see Weeping Angels. Doctor," she marched for him, missing the way River watched her, "How do we fight Vashta Nerada without getting killed?"

She'd stopped him momentarily from his search, but it was only for him to see her honest fear. He didn't want to tell her that he had no idea, but…

_There's always something_ , he reminded himself. He looked around the room for the slightest of things that could help. "Lights!" he exclaimed. "That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"

"What for?" called River.

"Form a circle, safe area, big as you can, lights pointing out."

"Oi! Do as he says!" River told the rest of the crew, even clapping her hands to make sure they heard her. Despite Lux's defensiveness, the crew followed River's instructions. "Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mr. Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the Library database, see what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago. Pretty Boy, you're with me. Step into my office."

Renata shot River a look for her choice of words. She seemed to _know_ the Doctor but...he didn't seem to. But she was a bit...distant with the rest. She'd already noticed long ago that River had only introduced herself because Donna asked her but even then River had yet to introduce herself to Gabby or Renata herself.

"I have no idea what's going on," Gabby came over to Renata, heaving a big sigh. "All I know is that I should be afraid...of the dark. Did I get that right?"

Renata hated to nod her head, but she had to. "We'll get out of this, we always do."

"Pretty boy, with me I said!" River's call for the Doctor garnered both their attention. The Doctor had yet to notice he was being requested.

"And should we be worried about her?" Gabby whispered to Renata while discreetly pointing a finger at River. "We have no idea who she is."

"No, but…" Renata brought her arms over one another, her tongue swiveling inside while she tried calming herself, "...she seems to know the Doctor very well."

"Doctor, for goodness' sake!" River got tired and motioned the Doctor to join her.

"Oh was _I_ Pretty Boy?" he stopped to question his companions.

"Yes," Donna answered flatly then thought to the side for a moment. "Did that come out a bit quick?"

"Pretty?!"

"Meh."

Renata smiled at Donna. When the Doctor finally joined River at a different table, she was rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a dark blue book with the TARDIS pattern on the cover.

"Thanks," she said.

"For what?"

"The usual. For coming when I call."

The Doctor blinked, almost tempted to take his psychic paper out to reread the message again. "Oh, that was _you_?"

River smiled but it was one that led to confusion. "You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. What did I do this time, according to Gabby?"

"Gabby?" the Doctor repeated, briefly glancing at the girl. Renata was keeping her and Donna busy in safe zones, as well as overlooking what the others were doing. "Why would she say something?"

"Well, one never knows with her but since she's always with _Renata_ I'm always prepared," River grabbed her TARDIS colored blue book. The Doctor caught onto the extra emphasis River put on Renata's name and it didn't exactly sound friendly. "OK, shall we do diaries, then? Where are we this time?" she searched his face for any type of clue but all she saw was that he was very young. "So I'd say it's early days for you. So, um…" she opened her book and skimmed a few pages, "Crash of the Byzantium, have we done that yet?" the Doctor scrunched his face, giving her the answer she needed. "Oh, how about the Silva gemstone hunt?" The Doctor was silent. "Blimey, very early days, then. Huh, life with a time traveler, never knew it could be such hard work." She lowered her book and really examined the Doctor's face. She blinked when it hit her. "You're _so_ young."

"I'm really not, you know…"

"Nah, but you are. Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."

"You've seen me before, then?"

River stiffened when a new realization struck her, the possibility of it making her shake for a moment. "Doctor... please tell me you know who I am?" The hope on her face made the Doctor feel terrible when he asked her who she was. He always remembered everyone he met, but River was not one of them.

An alarm rang in the room, but it was a strange type. Still, it made everyone in the room jump.

"Sorry, that was me!" Proper Dave cleared his throat. "Trying to get through into the security protocols, I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"

"No…" Renata looked at Gabby and Donna, the answer right at the tip of her tongue.

"It's a phone!" Gabby exclaimed first.

"I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding. Just that noise," Proper Dave explained.

"No buddy, that's a _phone_ ," Gabby wanted to walk over to him but as soon as she took a few steps towards him, Renata pulled her back. "Okay…"

"Let me try something," the Doctor headed for the terminal that Proper Dave was working on. He noticed the screen was showing the same symbol the security camera they'd found earlier had. _Access denied_. "OK, doesn't like that, let's try something else." He did a bit more tinkering and was relieved to see that this time the screen was brightening up. "OK, here it comes. Hello?"

The screen showed a little girl who looked perfectly normal, though very much confused. "Hello," she came closer to the screen. "Are you in my television?"

"Well, no, I'm, I'm... sort of in space. I, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple-grid security processor."

"Doctor, she doesn't understand that," Renata laughed at him and moved up to stand beside him. "Hi there sweetie," she smiled at the girl. "Is there an adult with you, by any chance?"

"My Dad is," the girl smiled back at her. She tilted her head suddenly, examining the pair on her end of the screen. "I know you! You were in my Library."

"Your library?" the two Time Lords repeated.

"The Library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"

Renata turned her head at the Doctor, her expression nearly asking him the same thing.

"I-I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed. "I just rerouted the interface…"

But the connection broke then.

"Who was that?" asked River as she walked on over as well. The screen returned to its 'access denied' bit.

"I need another terminal!" the Doctor decided and ran to where River had set up her station. There was another terminal beside it. "Keep working on those lights, we need those lights!"

"Is there anything we can do?" Gabby caught River by the arm but the moment she did River jerked away...almost in fear. It froze Gabby in her spot, but it didn't keep River at bay.

"I told you to never touch me!"

"I didn't mean-"

"Keep your butterflies off of me!" River's voice, though threatening, had an underlying shakiness. River soon met Renata's gaze and gave the Time Lady a cold glare. " _She_ touched _me_ so don't even start!"

Renata blinked with bemusement, something that further angered River. "I have no idea what you're talking about." River scoffed. "I really don't." Renata said calmly. She wasn't much for stand offs, especially with people she didn't even know. "But please don't yell at my friend. She hasn't done anything."

"Renée?" the Doctor called to the Time Lady. Renata's eyes lingered on River's glaring gaze, wanting to figure out the puzzle right in that moment but it was impossible. So, she walked away to reach the Doctor. "What was that about?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't know," Renata shrugged. "But maybe you'll find out considering she seems to know you...and very well by the looks of it."

The Doctor's brow furrowed at her accusation. "What are you trying to say?"

Suddenly, Renata saw them back in King Henry's palace with the Doctor accusing her of having an affair with the King. She was getting the same feeling, the same _urge_ , to ask the Doctor. She didn't have the right to. She couldn't be even worse than what she already was. "Nothing, I'm sorry," she sighed.

"Renata," the Doctor started with a new nervousness that hadn't been on his face seconds ago, "I've been...I've been meaning to talk to you..."

Renata swallowed hard when she presumed where the conversation would steer to. In her attempt to look away, she spotted River's diary on the table. "What's that?"

"Hm?" the Doctor followed her gaze to the table and saw the diary. "Oh, uh, it's hers. It's her diary."

"It's just like the TARDIS…"

"Yes, I've noticed."

"Don't touch it," River came by to take the book off the table. "You're not allowed to see inside the book, it's against the rules."

"What rules?" frowned Renata.

"Yours," River made a nod at her then the Doctor.

"Ah." Renata wouldn't even question it then. She was about to turn away when books started flinging off the shelves.

"What's that!?" Donna ducked and yanked Gabby down with her before they were both smacked in the face. "Doctor!"

"I didn't do anything!" the man cried. "Did you!?" he set eyes on Proper Dave.

"No!"

"Doesn't matter who did it - someone stop it!" Renata covered her head with her arms.

The Doctor returned to the terminal without being hit - yet - and saw the screen were now blinking 'CAL'. "What's CAL?"

The books eventually stopped flying off, letting the crew and the travelers get back on their feet.

"This is beyond crazy," Gabby said after being able to stand again. "What's causing the books to fly off the shelves? The Shadows?"

"Don't be ridiculous," River rolled her eyes. "It's probably the girl."

"Begging the question of _who_ is that little girl," the Doctor took in a deep breath. Nothing was making sense. "What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? And what's CAL?"

That last question River could answer. "Ask Mr. Lux. He owns the place."

"CAL, what is it?" he turned to the man in question, expecting an answer but instead god a sneer.

"Sorry. You didn't sign your personal experience contracts."

The noise that slipped through Renata's lips was not a kind one. "Humans!" she gestured to Lux as her prime example. "We're all in danger of dying but you care more about protecting a _patent_!? Doctor!"

"Yeah, alright, I'll give you that one," the Doctor raised his hands. Today was not a good day for humankind.

"I'm protecting my family's pride," Lux tried defending himself but his answer was no better than the first.

"Well, funny thing, Mr Lux, I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important!" the Doctor snapped.

"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River made him pause where he was. Of course before he answered, she grinned mischievously. "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you."

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here?" the Doctor really tried focusing this time. If he couldn't figure things out from where they stood, but maybe if he started from the beginning, things could change. "On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"

"There was a message from the Library. Just one," River answered. ""The lights are going out". Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."

"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in," Lux added.

"Did you ever think that was a clue not to open it?" asked Donna. If she saw three different, high tech locks on a door she would take that as something that shouldn't be opened under any circumstances.

"Um... excuse me…" Miss Evangalista tried to cut into the conversation but Lux shut her down without even sparing her a glance. She'd actually found something on the wall.

"There was one other thing in the last message…" River said after a moment. As soon as she admitted it, Lux threw daggers at her.

"That's confidential!"

"I trust this man. With my life, with everything!" River's certainty left various reactions amongst the TARDIS travelers.

Both Gabby and Donna were in similar states of surprise considering the Doctor had never even mentioned that woman.

Renata was simply stunned. She'd never met anyone who had that same belief in the Doctor. It saddened her a bit to realize that she - Zuriah - was no longer the only woman to have had that type of faith in the Doctor. _You made everything happened_ , she blamed herself. He had no obligation to stay alone because she made the wrong choice. But it made her wonder just how well River actually knew the Doctor and vice versa. River was clearly from the future and Renata didn't even know what the future held for herself anymore.

The Doctor didn't know what to do with himself. He felt guilty that River trusted him when he really had zero clue who she was. She was so sure and yet clearly hurt that he didn't know her. That was time travel, unfortunately. Sometimes not everything happened in order.

"You've only just met him!" Lux barked but he was no match for River's voice.

"No, he's only just met me!"

"Um. This might be important actually…" Miss Evangelista tried once again but the conversation was too heated for any interruptions.

"In a moment!" Lux shouted at her and that was it for her.

River sighed heavily and went for her PDA left on the table. Better to get things moving before they were killed, after all. "This is a data extract that came with the message." She came back to the Doctor to show him the complete message.

He took it from her and saw the main reason they were in the building. ""4022 saved. No survivors."

"4022, that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed."

"But how can 4022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna inquired. So far the building had been absolutely silent. Unless these people were seriously good hiders, the building was empty.

"That's what we're here to find out," River told her.

"And so far, what we haven't found any bodies," Lux added.

"Well that's good isn't it?" Gabby's question earned her some strange looks. With a nervous smile, she elaborated. "I meant, if there aren't any bodies yet, it means there's a chance they're still alive.'

"Yes but _where_ are they?" River hurriedly asked but didn't give Gabby the attention to even listen to her theories.

Suddenly, Miss Evangelista screamed but the crew and the travelers realized that she wasn't even in the room.

"When did she leave!?" Renata asked after a quick, frantic search for her in the room.

"Never mind that, c'mon!" the Doctor led the chase for the source of the woman's scream.

They came to a lecture room but all they found was a skeleton on the ground...wearing the same spacesuit Miss Evangelista was.

"Careful!" the Doctor warned the group as they gathered around the skeleton. "Everybody, careful! Stay in the light."

"Because of that, obviously," Renata gestured to the skeleton then glanced at Lux. "You wanted a body, there it is."

"Is that...is that Miss Evangelista?" River was horrified to see what was left of her co-worker. As if she couldn't fully believe it, she grabbed her communicator built into her spacesuit and called into it. "Miss Evangelista, please state your current…" but at the same time she spoke, her voice was heard in the spacesuit of the skeleton. She lowered her hand and carefully walked up to the skeleton. She pulled out a piece of the spacesuit's collar from its back and revealed a communicator that was still blinking green. "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."

"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?" Anita asked, though she wasn't very interested in the answers. All she was interested in was getting the hell out of there.

"It took a lot less than a few seconds," the Doctor murmured. He felt at sole blame. He'd been so focus on figuring out who River was that he...he didn't even see when Miss Evangelista wandered out.

Renata didn't have to be telepathically connected with him to know where his thoughts were. She scooted to his side and touched his arm, giving him a small smile when he looked her way. "It's not," she said softly, hoping he would take her words seriously.

It seemed like he did. He found his own smile that he gave her and took her hand from his arm to hold in his own. It was a small moment but a moment nonetheless, and it was enough to give the Doctor the same feelings he'd been getting about her lately.

_'Hello?'_

River blinked at the sudden call from Miss Evangelista, but she secretly thanked it for cutting the two Time Lords apart. It was just like Renata to play soft when the moment called for it, but God forbid the Doctor did something wrong. "Um, I'm sorry everyone, um, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting."

"She's what?" Donna didn't know whether she should be looking for a ghost around.

_'Hello, excuse me? I - I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me?'_

"That's...that's her, that's Miss Evangelista!" Donna wondered, for a brief moment, if Miss Evangelista was still alive somewhere. Perhaps the skeleton was a decoy.

"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just... you know?" Proper Dave made a gesture to cut off the communication, but River frowned at him.

"This is her last moment... no, we can't. A little respect, thank you!"

_'Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?'_

"But is that really her, though?" Gabby Miss Evangelista.

"It's a data ghost, she'll be gone in a moment," River sighed and reached for her communicator again. "Miss Evangelista, you're fine, just relax. We'll be with you presently."

"What's a data ghost?" Gabby y turned to the Doctor and Renata for the answer. She got a feeling the first answer was all River would give her.

"There's a neural relay in the communicator, lets you send thought mails," the Doctor pointed to the blinking green lights on Miss Evangelista's spacesuit. "That's it there, those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an after image."

"My grandfather lasted a day. Kept talking about his shoelaces," Anita said with her head hanging low.

_'I can't see, I can't... Where am I?'_

"She's just brain waves now. The pattern won't hold for long," Proper Dave said.

"She's conscious! She's thinking!" Donna argued.

_'I can't see, I can't... I don't know what I'm thinking.'_

"She's a footprint on the beach. And the tide's coming in," said the Doctor.

_'Where's that woman? The nice woman... is she there?'_

"What woman?" Lux looked around but as far as he knew, Miss Evangelista barely had friends.

"She means... I think, she means me," Donna realized after a few seconds. She'd only talked to the woman for a few minutes but...she was nice, probably nicer than the rest of the crew.

_'Is she there? The nice woman?'_

"Yeah, she's here, hang on," River turned to Donna. "Go ahead. She can hear you."

Donna fervently shook her head. "No!"

"Donna," the Doctor inched closer to the ginger. "Help her."

Donna felt like she was being asked the impossible. They wanted her to talk to the dead? That was too much. "She's dead!"

' _Hello? Is that the nice woman?'_

"Donna, she's fading," the Doctor tried again. "It's just for a few seconds. Help her."

Donna sighed. "Yeah, I guess... I'm here." She only took a few steps towards the skeleton. "You OK?"

_'What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh.'_

Donna felt like shooting the crew a glare for how they made that poor woman feel all the time, but what would be the point? At least they have the decency to look ashamed of themselves. "Course I won't. Course I won't tell them."

_'Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh…'_

"I won't tell them. I said I won't," Donna promised her.

_'Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh.'_

"I'm not going to tell them."

_'Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh.'_

"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading," River said once Miss Evangelista started stuttering. Eventually, she had to shut the neural relay down.

"That was... that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen," Donna covered her face for a moment to calm herself down.

River was glaring daggers but at nothing in particular. "No. It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her... I'd like a word with that."

"I'll introduce you," the Doctor was on the same level of anger as River. He stormed out of the lecture room, leaving the others to follow, and returned to their room. "I'm gonna need a packed lunch."

"Hang on!" River exclaimed and went to retrieve her bag. She seemed to know exactly what he would like and that was simply shocking for Renata.

"So are we ever going to figure out who she is?" Gabby quietly made her question to Renata and Donna. The Doctor was working on his own but River seemed to linger around him in case he needed some assistance. "And how she knows the Doctor?"

"She's a time traveler, isn't it obvious?" Renata folded her arms over her chest. She couldn't help the irritation towards River, but what else could she feel? She hated to admit that she was jealous, like she had any sort of claim on the Doctor. The disgust towards herself might have raised in that moment.

"Ren?" Gabby touched her arm. "Hey, whatever you think...it's not."

Renata shook her head, smiling sourly. "It doesn't matter, Gabriella. I have...I have no right." She turned away, about to walk when she felt the warmth again only this time it sort of... _hurt_. She made a face and raised her hands, only to stop midway with a yelp. Something hard hit her stomach from the _inside_. "Ah!"

"Ren, you okay?" Donna heard the yelp along with Gabby.

"Y-yeah…" Renata tried her hardest to keep her next yelp inside. Her face strained to keep her mouth shut, but the fact she was wrapping her arm around her stomach gave her up.

"Renata!" Donna reached over and turned the Time Lady around, gasping when she saw how pale Renata had gone. She even felt a crazy heat from Renata's arm, _through_ the Time Lady's coat, and backtracked.

Gabby had seen the whole thing and panicked. She thought the worst. " _Doctor_!"

Hearing her call made the Doctor whirl around. "What!? Gabby!" He then saw Renata's current state and bolted for them. "Out of the shadows! Out of the shadows!"

"No, no, there's no shadows," Renata found her voice, although she had to take several deep breaths to continue talking. "They're just being-"

"She looked like she was in pain and she's really warm, Doctor," Donna told him, her voice going right over Renata's tone. "Is it a fever? Can Time Ladies get fevers?"

"I do not have a fever!" Renata shouted, far louder than she had intended to.

The Doctor planted a hand over her forehead - making her lean back a few inches - and immediately felt the heat Donna was talking about. "That is-"

Renata swatted his hand away from her and glared at Gabby and Donna. "I'm fine, stop being over dramatic." The pain had subsided like it never even happened.

"Yes, _please_ ," River may not have been right next to them but her sharp voice was enough to pull the group apart.

Renata didn't know whether to be mad with River for her attitude or to thank the woman for cutting them off. She touched the Doctor's arm and offered him a soft smile. "I'm really okay," she said in a whisper, but the Doctor wasn't very convinced.

He stepped closer to her, leaving barely enough space between them. There was nothing but concern in his eyes for her. "We talked about this," he reminded her. "We need to be very cautious about your health…"

He hated to admit that her health _was_ declining, not noticeably but steadily. He'd done new exams after visiting King Henry and was startled to see that the energy was further mutating inside her. There was no clear reading that could tell the Doctor why it was happening and much less _what_ it was becoming. But it was interrupting her daily life, he could see it. There were moments were Renata got tired easily without doing anything in the first place. Then there was the strange heat flashes, warmth that came directly from the energy levels spiking. And the gold flicker in her eyes...that's what truly let him see that there was _something_ inside Renata. It scared him to the bone what was lurking through her insides, hurting her...

Renata cupped his face, offering him her best smile. She was doing what she did best: hiding her feelings. "I'm okay Doctor. Really. Don't worry about me." He looked at her for a long while then, as if he was about to leave, but instead he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead again. She was really hot. "Vashta Nerada," she reminded him. "It will kill _everyone_ in this room. Don't stop for me."

The Doctor _hated_ to leave her, but she was right. Vashta Nerada would kill all of them if they didn't get out and what good would he be to Renata if they were all dead? With a sigh, he nodded his head. "Donna, Gabby, you keep an eye on her alright?" he looked directly at the women, expression close to dark with a warning. They were _not_ to leave Renata's side.

River watched the Doctor return to his work across the room and waited a few minutes before making her own way up to Donna, Gabby and Renata. "You're Donna?" she stopped in front of the ginger. There was a glint of fascination in her eyes, but Donna also swore she saw...pity? Was that right?

"Yeah, yeah, I am," Donna nodded. "But it's not like you asked us who we are, right?" her gesture at Gabby and Renata flew over River's head. "Something you want to say?"

"No, uh, well actually yeah…" River paused for a second, glancing at the Doctor with a soft smile on her face. "Thank you." Donna blinked, not expecting for River to say that out of all things. "Thanks."

"Come again?"

River returned her attention to Donna but her eyes flickered to Renata still preoccupied with her hands. "What's wrong with you?"

Renata blinked up from her hands and frowned. "Excuse me?"

"We are in danger and you're distracting the Doctor with something, no doubt, dramatic."

Renata was stunned at the woman's brashness. "I-I don't intend to-"

River scoffed. "Sure. Listen, if you don't mind, we'd sort of like to get out of here _alive_ and you being dramatic is not going to help anyone."

"I _wasn't_!" Renata exclaimed. She balled her fists once the warmth reflourished under her skin. She really shouldn't be arguing with anyone right now. "Look, River, I don't...I don't know why you're so upset with me but it shouldn't be a priority right now, don't you think? It's like you said, we need to get out of here alive."

River visibly tensed up. Renata _always_ did that. River despised the annoying talent Renata had to always rearrange things so that _she_ came out looking right while the other person, usually River, came out looking like the bad person. Even now, she still had the stupid talent and it was infuriating _. She_ had said they needed to get out first but somehow Renata repeated the same thing and now both Gabby and Donna were looking at River with disapproval.

Renata was a master at reading faces. She had to be in order to know how to best please them. Her family taught her how to do it and how to always pick up on the right quirks. Right now, she could easily tell that she'd just further irritated River...but she wasn't sure why. She could barely argue, she couldn't move around a lot...what could she have done?

"I'm sorry," she felt compelled to say but even that was wrong.

"Oh, _of course_ ," River seemed to be expecting that...and she was. At one point or another, it almost always came up. Apologizing. That always made Renata look better in front of people, in front of the Doctor. "Save it, _he_ 's not watching!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Stop it!" River snapped, getting more frustrated with each of Renata's attempts.

"You know what-" Gabby suddenly yanked Renata back, leaving the poor Time Lady to stumble backwards for Donna to catch, "-you need to _back_ _off_!" She got right in River's face and since Gabby was smaller, she had to be on her tippy-toes. "Ren's not doing anything! You want to save people? Then go do it! Why are you being so _mean_? In case you haven't noticed, _none_ of us-" she gestured to Renata, Donna and herself, "-know you! That means whatever you're mad about, we haven't even done yet. That makes you an _extra_ type of prick."

"Gabriella, stop it!" Renata hissed and pulled the girl back, never having seen Gabby so worked up and much less having a stand off with anyone. She never wanted to see that even if it was on her behalf. "We are not going to waste time with silly arguments. I won't have it."

"It's funny, _Gabby_ , you're so young. Nothing's happened to you but even now, you're still just like _her_ ," River's eyes flickered to Renata for show. Her previous hardness faded into strain. She wanted to appear brave, to be strong in front of those two women who were _known_ to be strong. She _was_ brave and strong and clever. She was _really_ clever and she wasn't going to let some early baby versions of Renata and Gabby make her doubt that.

"Then that means I'm going to become a really good person," Gabby said confidently and glanced at Renata with a warm smile.

Renata blinked tears away. Her hearts warmed for a second with Gabby's utmost belief in her words. Gabby really thought that being like _her_ would make her a better person.

"OK, we've got a live one!" the Doctor suddenly called, completely in the dark about the side conversation (or argument) that'd been going on. He was circling a shadow on the floor, careful not to step on it. "That's darkness down those tunnels, this is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man-eating swarm." He used one of the chicken legs from River's lunch as bait for proof. He chucked it into the shadow and it was devoured before even hitting the ground. It left the entire group horrified. "The piranhas of the air, the Vashta Nerada. Literally 'the shadows that melt the flesh'. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

"What d'you mean, most planets? Not Earth?" Donna, along with Gabby, had an inkling feeling that it wasn't the case.

"Mmmm, Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."

"Doctor, not to question your expertise but…I think we would've noticed if we had killer shadows on Earth," Gabby said, but her nervous smile faded with his long stare.

"Normally they live on roadkill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

"That's a lovely way to put it," Renata warned him with one of her own looks not to go into further detail. It was a fearsome idea that Gabby, nor Donna, were ready for.

"Every shadow?" River asked him, half curious for the real answer but the other half of her wanting to end such dramatics again.

"No. But any shadow."

"So what do we do?"

"Daleks - aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans - back of the neck. Vashta Nerada... Run! Just run."

"Run? Run where?"

"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere," the Doctor searched the room rather urgently but settled for anything Lux could offer. The building was his after all.

"Don't look at me, I haven't memorized the schematics!" the man barked.

"You know," Renata stepped up beside River, "You can hate me all you want, but the one thing we can agree on is that he-" she nodded towards Lux, "-is no help at all."

"Mm," River hated to agree but she was right.

"Doctor, the little shop!" Donna had spotted a smaller room at the other end of the room. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff!"

"You're right! Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop!" the Doctor beamed.

"OK, let's move it!" Proper Dave exclaimed, ready to head out when the Doctor shouted for him to stop.

"Actually, Proper Dave, could you stay where you are for a moment?"

"Why?"

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows."

Everyone's gazes immediately fell to the double shadows below Proper Dave. It definitely kept the man still.

"It's how they hunt, they latch on to a food source and keep it fresh," the Doctor muttered.

"What do I do?"

"You stay absolutely still. Like there's a wasp in the room, like there's a million wasps," the Doctor was very careful how he moved around the room. If the shadows were moving then any one of them could be next.

"We're not leaving you, Dave," River promised the terrified man.

"Course we're not leaving," agreed the Doctor. "Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."

"On the floor, by my bag."

Anita retrieved the helmet for them and handed it to the Doctor. "Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got."

"I would like to point out that we do not have helmets," Gabby cleared her throat to say.

"Yeah, but we're safe anyway," the Doctor said dismissively.

Gabby exchanged looks with Donna, both being confused by that statement. "How are we safe?" Donna asked him.

"We're not, that was a clever lie to shut you up!"

"Well, rude," Renata crossed her arms. "But he's not wrong so Gabby, Donna just...just stay with me alright?" The two women in question nodded.

"Professor, anything I can do with the suit?" the Doctor turned to River for help.

"We can increase the mesh-density, dial it up 400%. Make it a tougher meal!"

"Okay!" the Doctor pulled his sonic out and used it on Proper Dave's spacesuit. "800%! Pass it on!" he was about to hand River the sonic when she revealed her own...a rather familiar one though.

Renata nearly keeled over when she saw it. The Doctor was frozen in his spot while River went around the crew to sonic their suits.

Renata moved past Gabby and Donna to get closer, coming to a stop beside the Doctor just as River returned. "That's my screwdriver," Renata blinked.

"No, it's not," River said with a deep scowl.

"Yes, it is," Renata was sure of it. "It's my sonic screwdriver - fancier, but it is." And before River could deny it again, Renata pulled hers out as well. Both sonic screwdrivers were embedded with the same gold and white shades. River's gold was stronger and the tip seemed to be more high tech, but all in all it was the same sonic screwdriver.

River seemed just as stunned as Renata now. "How did…" her eyes flickered to the Doctor, accusing, "That was a cheap trick!"

"What?" he frowned, having no idea what she was going on about.

"You told me you made this!"

"He probably did," Renata murmured sadly. _So much for being special_.

The Doctor didn't know what was worse: seeing Renata's disappointed face, or seeing River's furious face. He himself was just... _so_ confused. Why would he make a sonic screwdriver for River? He didn't go around making them just for anyone - by that logic, he should've made one for Gabby and Donna, or even Martha! How important could River be? And more to the point, why would he make one using the same schematics he used for Renata's?

Renata put her sonic away and sighed. "It's mine," she assured River. "But before you throw it away, if the Doctor gave it to you, it's because you would need it. Think about that, please."

Of course River was thinking about it. How stupid did Renata think she was? The Doctor never did anything without a good reason. She curled her hand around the sonic, gripping it tightly. She should've known better than to fully trust that he made the sonic all on his own. Renata would never let a project like that be done without her knowledge.

"Fine," River muttered and went on her way.

"Ren..." the Doctor tried touching her but she stepped away from him, an action that actually _hurt_. If she was stepping away then she didn't want to be near him and much less want him to touch her. And as of late, he discovered that he really liked to touch her. Hold hands, be close...

* * *

_Renata yelped in surprise when the Doctor gently brought her from her side to his front. Her free hand had come to rest over his chest and her other hand seemed locked under the Doctor's free hand._

_"You had fun?" the Doctor asked quietly though with his ragged breathing it came out a little louder than intended. They were both still trying to catch their breaths, they could feel it. Renata felt the Doctor's chest heaving up and down under her hand and since Renata's chest was pressed to his, the Doctor could feel her own heavy breathing._

* * *

The Doctor felt his breath leave him. What he would give to relive that moment again and _not_ this one.

"We need to get them out of here," Renata's quiet voice pulled the Doctor out of his thoughts, missing the blush that crept over his face. He followed her gaze over to Gabby and Donna and realized she wanted to transport them back to the TARDIS. Neither of them knew what would happen with the Vashta Nerada around.

"You're right," he agreed. "Donna! Gabby! With us!" he made the motion as he and Renata led them towards the gift shop Donna pointed out earlier.

"What are we doing, we're shopping? Is it a good time to shop?" Donna understood his brain worked far differently than theirs but this one had to be a bad idea.

"That sonic...why was it like yours?" Gabby stopped to ask Renata that. She knew exactly that it was Renata's because she'd been there when the Doctor had made it. Granted she didn't know half the things that went into the sonic but the idea was the same.

"I don't know," Renata put on her best smile as she ushered Gabby onto the small platform of the gift shop. "Just stand still, okay?"

"Donna, you too," the Doctor tried to hide his grimness as he brought Donna over to Gabby's side.

"What is this?" Gabby looked down to the ground. There were odd circular patterns on it.

"It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Donna started to look around more frantically.

"It's like Gabby said: you don't have suits, you're not safe!"

Gabby seemed to be closer to realizing what he was going to do. "Neither do you!" she exclaimed. "You and Renata are in as much danger as we are!"

"Thing is Gabriella, you haven't lived and you have no business being in this kind of danger. You and Donna are our number one priority right now," Renata smiled kindly then looked at the Doctor, giving him the nod to activate the teleport.

Donna's eyes widened. "Doctor, don't-"

But the teleport activated and pulled them out.

"You know, Renée-"

Renata raised a hand to stop the Doctor from even finishing his sentence. "Don't. I'm not going anywhere. I made that mistake once, I'm not doing it again."

The Doctor paused to give her a strange look, of course puzzled about her words. What could she have meant?

"Doctor!" River called from the other room.

The two hurried back and went straight to Proper Dave. They saw that he'd lost one shadow.

"Where did it go?" the Doctor quickly searched the immediate area. He pulled Renata's arm to bring her to his side. For the time being, that was the only area safe enough to stand.

"It's just gone. I... I looked round, one shadow," Proper Dave said

"Does that mean we can leave?" River urgently asked, ready to make a run for it. "I don't want to hang around here."

"I don't know why we're still here," huffed Lux. "We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offence…"

"Seriously?" Renata glanced at River, gesturing at the man to prove he was still the only thing that could agree on.

"Yeah, fine!" River exclaimed. "Mr. Lux, shut up!"

"Did you feel anything?" the Doctor preferred to focus his attention on Proper Dave. The Vashta Nerada leaving him it made absolutely no sense, which made him drunk this was all a trick that would end with their lives. "Like an energy transfer? Anything at all?"

"No, no, but, look, it's, it's gone!"

"Stop there, stop, stop, stop there, stop moving! They're never just gone. And they never give up!" the Doctor sonicked the only shadow Proper Dave had. "Well, this one's benign."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"No-one, they're fine."

"No, seriously, turn them back on!"

River was clearly confused but she wasn't the only one. None of them understood what was going on. "They _are_ on."

"I can't see a ruddy thing!"

The Doctor straightened on his feet, expression even more dark than earlier. He had an idea of what was happening. "Dave, turn round."

Proper Dave turned back to the group but his face was completely in the dark. It looked like his helmet had it's visor tint back on.

"What's going on? Why can't I see?" Proper Dave helplessly asked. "Is the power gone, are we safe here?"

Renata swallowed hard. She liked to be realistic and seeing this… indicated what was about to happen.

"Dave, I want you to stay still, absolutely still," the Doctor warned but he caught the light stiffen that Dave suddenly did. "Dave, Dave? Dave, can you hear me, are you all right? Talk to me, Dave."

"I'm fine, I'm OK, I'm... I'm fine."

"I want you to stay still, absolutely still."

"No, Doctor…" Renata slowly walked up behind him, pressing a hand to his shoulder. He barely looked to her when Proper Dave started stuttering the same few words over and over.

The lights on his communicator were blinking, just like Miss Evangelista's was earlier too.

"He's gone. He's ghosting," River lowered her head with a sigh.

"Then why is he still standing?" Lux retracted a step for good measure.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

The Doctor attempted to move closer to Proper Dave but Renata gripped his arm. "Please don't," she whispered. Behind her, River pursed her lips together. She'd been about to say the same thing to him.

"Dave, can you hear me?" the Doctor he gently removed Renata's hand from his arm, his expression promising her that he would be careful.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave seized the Doctor's neck and gripped it with incredible force.

"Doctor!" Renata exclaimed.

Proper Dave's helmet was finally lit and it allowed for the others to see what was left of him: a skeleton. "Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Excuse me!" River shoved Renata to the side and used her upgraded sonic on the skeleton. However, instead of the usual flashy lights like previous screwdrivers...this one released a particular interesting type of energy.

A swarm of golden butterflies emanated from the tip of the screwdriver and raced towards the skeleton. It was enough to force the skeleton to release the Doctor. The Time Lord coughed as the air returned to his lungs.

"Back from it, get back, right back!"

" _Butterflies_!?" River seemed even more outraged with her sonic than earlier when she discovered it was from Renata's schematics. "Are you kidding me!?"

"Those are my...my butterflies," Renata whispered in horror. She looked down at our own hands, remembering when the same golden butterflies that had surrounded her at Zhe's gallery.

"I _hate_ butterflies," River gritted her teeth together.

"Let's go!" the Doctor yanked River back since she was too preoccupied with her screwdriver to notice Proper Dave getting closer to her.

"Doesn't move very fast does it?" Lux inquired about the skeleton's awkward manner of walking.

"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning," the Doctor said.

"Not very promising," Renata said then and not a moment later saw several shadows reaching out from proper Dave's body. They were coming for them. "As is that…" her voice shook with terrible fear.

"What do we do? Where do we go?" Lux frantically asked.

"See that wall behind you?" River turned around to face the group. "Duck!" those in question docked as she blasted a hole in the wall with a particular type of weapon.

"Squareness gun!" the Doctor laughed at their luck, but River focused on getting them all out of there first. They made a run down an aisle that was far too dark for their liking.

"You said not every shadow, right?" Renata's head wouldn't stop turning from one side to the other thinking that the next shadow they would come across would be Vashta Nerada.

"Right, but any shadow!"

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave - or the Vashta Nerada - was following them and quicker now.

"And GO!" the Doctor yelled at the group who needed no other command to pick up their pace. The Doctor took Renata's hand and yanked her forwards, but even as they ran he could once again feel the insane heat from her skin. And when he happened to side-glance her, he was shocked to see how pale and weary she was.

As soon as they could find a refuge, the group sealed the door of the new room as best as they could with what they had. The Doctor left Renata somewhere she could rest, after sure there were enough shadows but her own, then hurried to the nearest lamp to get more light. River neared him a few seconds later.

"Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down," he said during a struggle with his sonic. There was light but a weak one.

"So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?" Seeing his struggle, River used her own sonic to strengthen the light.

The Doctor eyed the golden white sonic. "Your screwdriver...it looks exactly like the one I made Renata."

Remembering that made River frown. "Yeah, I know. You tricked me."

"I did?"

"You said you made it but you never told me it was the same basic idea you used for Renata's first one."

"First one?"

River exhaled. "Sorry, spoilers. I just…I can't stand when you trick me like that, alright? You know I trust you with everything I have and…"

"Who are you?" the Doctor got tired of asking and never getting the answer. "I don't get it. I would never give a sonic screwdriver to anyone-"

"That isn't Renée, I know," River mimicked his tone then rolled her eyes. "That's why I can't believe I fell for it."

The Doctor inwardly sighed. His eyes flickered to Renata who seemed to be getting back on her feet, but still seemed very weary. "What's wrong with her?"

River briefly expressed confusion but she followed his gaze towards Renata. The Time Lady was once again studying her hands.

"How can I help her?"

River still didn't understand the question, much less the gravity of it, until she realized where in the timeline they were. "She's ill." She turned back to the Doctor. "This is when she's ill because...because she's been infected."

The Doctor winced at the word. _Infection._ How could he have let that happen? "I wasn't careful and she got hurt."

" _No_ ," River said sharply. "It wasn't your fault. She should've been more careful. Not everything that happens to her is on you, Doctor. Sometimes it's her own fault."

"How could you say that?" the Doctor frowned at her. "She didn't ask to be infected. She's innocent."

River almost laughed. "Ha! Renata is anything but innocent. Good people don't lead you on, Doctor. You know she's keeping a secret from you, right?"

"You're not supposed to tell me anything-"

"I know but I can't stand it! You always think that she's such a sweet, innocent woman but you never remember how you two started out: with lies. She's been lying to you, Doctor. Future you can be mad at me he wants but I _know_ that I am right. I've always been right. But you…" she sighed as if she'd been tired for centuries now, "You have always been blind when it comes to her." That was her sad reality, a reality she'd tried to accept now that everything had passed...had been done...but it still made her angry just as the first time she learned everything.

"I don't believe that," the Doctor said quietly, though River wanted to believe she saw a flash of curiosity on his face. "So you're not going to tell me how to help her, then?"

"I don't know," River answered honestly. "I know about her getting sick but I don't know how she became...what she is later on." The Doctor narrowed his eyes on her, willing her to speak the truth. "I really don't!"

With a sigh, he turned away from her. He came to Renata and, without even asking, pressed his hand to her forehead. "You're still burning hot…"

"Maybe Donna was right, I am running a fever," Renata said with a weary smile.

Remembering their companions, the Doctor checked his sonic to make sure they were safe and sound in the TARDIS. His stomach churned when he saw that it wasn't the case. "They're not in the TARDIS."

"What?" Renata saw his horrified face.

"They're not there. I should've received a signal, the console signals me if there's a teleport breach."

"Well if they're not there, then where are they?" Renata leaned away from the table she was supporting herself on.

The Doctor had no idea. And that scared him. He ran to the nearest Node available to get some answers. "Donna Noble, Gabby Gonzalez. They're somewhere in this Library. Do you have the software to locate their position?"

The Node turned its head to the two, horrifying them with Donna's face planted right on it. "Donna Noble and Gabby Gonzalez have left the Library. Donna Noble and Gabby Gonzalez have been saved."

Renata nearly fell backwards if the Doctor hadn't latched a hand to her arm.

"Donna Noble and Gabby Gonzalez have left the Library. Donna Noble and Gabby Gonzalez have been saved."

"But how can it be Donna? How's that possible?" River came rushing up behind them.

"G-Gabby…" Renata knew very well that wherever Donna was, so was Gabby. "Oh my God, where are they!?"

"Donna Noble and Gabby Gonzalez have left the Library. Donna Noble and Gabby Gonzalez have been saved."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave appeared in the aisle, ready to chase them again, but neither the Doctor not Renata had the energy to keep going when they had no idea if their friends were even alive.

"We have to go!" River called to the others. "Doctor, we've got to go, now!"

"But where are they!?" Renata shouted at the Node. "Where are Donna and Gabby!? Where are they!? Where…" she felt her chest burning with her yelling, or perhaps for something else, and leaned over.

"Renée!" the Doctor meant to help her but River yanked him back.

"We need to go!" she shouted, but his voice roared over hers.

"I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HER!"

Renata coughed horrifically, as if she were about to throw up. Her upper body was leaning down, hands on her knees, as she tried to catch a literal breath. She could feel the outrageous heat trying to burst from her again but she didn't know how to let it go.

"Renata, look at me!" the Doctor frantically tried to straightening her so he could see her face, but she shook her head and kept coughing.

"Doctor!" River called again. "It's coming!"

Proper Dave was dangerously close to them.

Renata coughed particularly hard one moment and widened her eyes when she saw a wisp of golden energy slipping between her lips. The first thing that popped into her mind was _regeneration_.

The Doctor saw it as well and gaped. "What the-"

River had angrily come for them both and grabbed them by the collars of their shirts. "We have to GO!" She was _not_ going to let one die because the other was being dramatic. Tale as old as time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so now Renata is truly on the plan to come clean but she's so scared...my poor baby girl. I'd be scared too if I was , now hear me out on this River Song thing here...if you've read my other 2 Doctor Who stories then you know I've made River super important to the OCs. Since this is the 3rd OC I'm writing, I wanted to try something completely new and I think I've done it :). River's relationship with Renata will be complicated as hell.
> 
> Sooo, I noticed that we're 3 reviews away from reaching 100 AND that I recently just passed the 200 mark of follows, I thought maybe I could leave a sneak peek of a moment in the next story? It'd be like a tiny little moment but something to say thanks!
> 
> As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	23. Renata, Zuriah, Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The travelers barely escape the Library with their lives, thanks to River Song. Before she goes, though, River makes sure to leave everything clear for Renata, inadvertently giving Renata the last push she needed to go through with her decision with the Doctor.

River's quick thinking had managed to save the group again and buy them more time. They'd found an empty room for the time being, but it wasn't guaranteed to be safe either. The room was huge and the only place they could be mildly safe in was at the center where there was a ray of light. The Doctor wanted to check the room for any malicious shadows, but his sonic refused to cooperate.

"Use mine," Renata offered him her own.

"Thank you," he took it from her but gestured her to go back to the center. "Try to catch your breath, alright?"

"Trying," she nodded with a weak smile.

"There's no lights here!" River purposely said loudly to get their attention and end their conversation. "Sunset's coming, we can't stay long. Have you found a live one?"

"It's getting harder to tell, honestly." The Doctor now used Renata's sonic but, like his, it wasn't doing much for them. "C'mon!" he waved it but it wasn't able to tell him anything.

River shook her head at him. "We're gonna need a chicken leg. Who's got a chicken leg?" she took one from Other Dave and chucked it into the shadow they were trying to examine. It was bone before it hit the floor. "OK, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet."

"They won't attack until there's enough of them, but they've got our scent now, they're coming," the Doctor handed Renata her sonic back. "Now seriously, go rest."

"I _am_ trying," she insisted, although there was only so much she could do during a situation like this. "But I'm really scared for Gabby and Donna. We have to find them."

"I know, but...I don't…" the Doctor was so tired as he took a look around the huge room. He felt so useless not being able to do anything for them. He didn't have a lot to work with and what he did have refused to work.

Renata reached for his hands. By this time, the heat from her skin was a constant but there was no point in hiding it. "I know you're working - your head never stops working. It's kind of annoying sometimes, to be honest." The Doctor couldn't help laugh for that moment. It's not that she didn't want him to keep thinking but sometimes...sometimes peace was okay too. But he had a mouth that wouldn't stop.

"Who is he?"

River blinked when her friend questioned her. She'd been watching the Doctor and Renata without even realizing. It was horrible, really, to see him so wrapped up with that woman, _to_ that woman. Because that's what Renata did: she wrapped people around her finger. One snap and they were at her side, asking her what she needed. "What, Dave?" she barely managed to look away.

"I said who is he?" Dave repeated his question and everyone behind him seemed to be waiting for the appropriate answer. "You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust him."

"Well...he's the Doctor. What more can I say?"

"You could, I don't know, start with _what_ that means?" Lux's sarcasm was still not appreciated.

"The only story you'll ever tell - if you survive him."

"You say he's your friend, but he doesn't even know who you are," Anita chimed in. "Not to mention the fact you keep arguing with that blonde woman. And the younger one with her."

River rolled her eyes. "We have history."

"So we shouldn't trust her?"

River knew the future Doctor would kill her if she ever said Renata couldn't be trusted. "I...suppose you could."

"Suppose?" Dave raised an eyebrow at her. "What's that even mean?"

River sighed in annoyance. "It means she'll help you but it doesn't make her a good person. The only difference right now is that she's never met me, so...I have to admit...that she's not as bad as she's going to get in the future. But she's a liar. And the Doctor can yell at me all he wants but I am never taking that back. I will _die_ thinking that."

The rest of the crew only blinked at her, more questions stemming from her answers.

River sighed again and turned away from them. "Just know that you can trust the Doctor, alright? Trust him." And the Doctor and Renata were still holding hands. "How are we doing with the sonic?" she called as she joined the pair, smiling like she wasn't frustrated at all.

"Right," the Doctor let go of Renata's hands and pulled out his sonic. "I, um...it…" he turned his sonic over and over. "There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it."

"Then use the red settings."

"It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers!"

"It will do one day. Apparently." River gave him her sonic and motioned him to get on with it, but all the Doctor did was stare at it and her. "What?"

"So some time in the future, I just _give_ you a screwdriver?"

"Yeah, well, like I said...you tricked me," River shook her head.

"Yeah but it still doesn't make sense," Renata spoke up, much to River's dismay. "The sonic had the, uh, the golden butterflies...my butterflies. How could I make that happen?"

"You're what now?" the Doctor gave her a very sharp look.

"Butterflies," Renata shook her head. "I don't know what the hell they are but I know they're mine. They're the same ones I had in Zhe's gallery."

"Wait a minute - is that what that golden energy is!?"

"I don't know! I'm...still trying to figure all this out…"

"Can we _please_ stop making this about _you_!?" River snapped at Renata, completely outraged that somehow this all went back to _her_. Sometimes, she really felt like screaming in the air. "You always do that!"

This time Renata was just as outraged as River. "It's not my intention!"

"Yeah, right! And I was born yesterday!"

Renata groaned in frustration and looked to the Doctor. "This is what I'm talking about! If we do this all the time, why would I ever concede to letting you use my butterflies for that sonic?"

"Good point," the Doctor had to admit. He didn't understand why River was being so rude to Renata. It was as if...she _hated_ Renata. But why would she - why would anyone for that matter - hate Renata?

"I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about!" River exclaimed. "Listen to me. You've lost your friends, you're angry, I can understand that. But there are seven people in this room still alive, focus on that."

"Can't focus when we don't know who you are," the Doctor frowned. "You're a stranger, so mind us if we have some suspicions."

"Fine, you want proof that we know each other?" River raised an eyebrow at him with the air of a challenge she was about to win. "I've got the best kind. Renata, Renée - you have so many names don't you?" Renata blinked but River was not finished. "I count at least three." She raised three fingers, unable to stop smirking when she saw Renata stiffen. "You want to hear all of them? I can start with the one on Gallifrey, before you chose your name..."

"Don't you dare," the Time Lady warned, but there was a shakiness that River heard and loved.

The Doctor's eyes flickered between Renata and River. He was fascinated yet so confused about what River was talking about.

Renata's jaw tensed. Could River know who she was for real? If she did, how would that happen? Did...did the future version of herself let that slip? Or did the future version of the Doctor tell River? _Maybe the one who's with her_. Because that's the vibe Renata was getting from River and all her future knowledge. The way she carried herself, the knowledge that she knew. To anyone it would seem like River was _with_ the Doctor.

Renata closed her eyes at the thought of it. One way or another, she was telling the Doctor who she was and maybe all her fears would come true. The Doctor would be furious and throw her out of the TARDIS. Eventually, he could meet River and...

River took it one step further to really seal the truth behind her words. She leaned over to Renata's ear and whispered something. The Doctor watched the little color on Renata's face completely vanish.

Renata swallowed hard when River pulled away. _Oh God_. "How...?"

A smirk took over River's face. "That should leave it clear. Any questions...Doctor?"

"Don't!" Renata exclaimed fast and, to the Doctor's surprise, with _fear_. "I-I...I believe you. I believe you."

"Renée?" the Doctor gently touched her arm but the mere act made her scrunch her face. He swore he saw a shiny tear in the corner of her eye.

"It's fine, I'm fine..." Renata swallowed hard and took in a breath. "Doctor, please tell me you thought of something? Please?"

"I'd rather-"

" _Please_ ," she begged him, missing the way River rolled her eyes.

The Doctor didn't want to further upset her. It seemed like River had that natural talent packed down and she didn't look the least bit sorry about it. "Okay, so my screwdriver is very hard to interfere with, practically nothing's strong enough... Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before, so what's new, what's changed?"

No one had the answer.

"It would be quicker, and safer, if you just told us," Renata made a gesture for him to move on.

"Right." He gazed up at the glass dome over them, specifically a huge moon overlooking them. "Moon rise... Tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real, it was built as part of the Library. It's just a doctor moon," Lux said.

"What's a doctor moon?"

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

The Doctor managed to turn on his sonic. "Well, still active, it's signalling, look. Someone somewhere in this Library is alive and communicating with the moon, or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal's definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through…"

"Oh my God, Donna!" Renata's sudden cry pulled the Doctor's gaze from his sonic. Donna's fuzzy image stood a few feet away from them. "Doctor, it's-"

"Donna!" he beamed, but the image only lasted a few seconds. "No, no!"

"Can you do that with Gabriella!?" Renata quickly rushed to his side again, shaking his arm but stopping when she realized something. "Can I do that with my sonic!?"

"No, I don't...I'm not sure! I'm trying to find the wavelength!" the Doctor fiddled with the sonic but to no luck. "Ah, I'm being blocked."

"Um, Professor?" Anita's voice was a bit shaky, but because of the Doctor's discovery there wasn't anyone to notice.

"Just a moment," River told her.

"It's important. I have two shadows…"

Everyone froze and slowly turned to Anita. She did indeed have to shadows under her.

"OK. Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours!" River went to collect the helmet not too far away.

"Why bother?" Anita's sour chuckle made River wince. "It didn't do Proper Dave any good."

"Just keep it together, OK?"

"Keeping it together, I'm only crying. I'm about to die, it's not an overreaction."

After giving her the helmet, the Doctor turned her visor dark.

"Oh, God, they've got inside," River thought for a second before the Doctor explained he was the reason.

"No, no, no, I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."

"D'you think they can be fooled like that?"

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm, it's not like we chat."

"If we could then maybe we could reason with them," Renata sighed. She happened to look around and froze when she saw something interesting. "Um...Doctor, River?" she made a gesture with her hand to follow her a bit to the side. "I have to ask…"

"Here we go," she heard River mumble under her breath.

Renata's face fell flat. "You know what? You and I can both do math so tell me why I'm seeing eight people in this room...when you said there were only seven."

Both River and the Doctor went wide-eyed and quickly numbered their crew...coming up with the deadly eight.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave had finally caught up with them.

"And run!" the Doctor gave the command.

Everyone bolted from the room. They ran down wherever they could see light, eventually coming to a corridor that seemed to connect two buildings. Perhaps the other building was a little safer.

The Doctor had stopped midway down the corridor, allowing a few of the others to run past him. When Renata stopped with a questioning look, he told her, "Renée, go ahead and find a safe spot!"

She knew exactly where his thoughts were. "It's Vastha Nerada - you can't reason with them!"

"Is he trying to reason with them?" River had come back, stopping beside Renata who nodded to her question. River groaned. "You can't reason with them!"

"I just need 5 minutes!" the Doctor promised them.

"You can't…" Renata groaned. She wasn't going to waste her breath, not when she already felt so _out_ of breath. "Oh forget it. You always do what you want - it's how you were programmed." She pointed a sharp finger his way. "You get five minutes!"

"Other Dave, stay with him, pull him out when he's too stupid to live," River said. "And I'm giving you _two_ minutes, Doctor."

Renata rolled her eyes and followed River down the rest of the corridor. They made it into another safe room. As soon as Renata found a place to lean on, she took it. Were things supposed to be spinning?

"You know... it's funny, I keep wishing the Doctor was here," she heard River say to Anita while the former went around sonicking the shadows to make sure they were safe enough.

"The Doctor is here, isn't he?" Anita questioned, logically confused why River would act as if the man wasn't there. "He's coming back, right?"

"Yes, he is," Renata answered, having full faith that somehow the Doctor would save himself like he always did.

"I didn't mean it like that," River clarified with a sigh. "It's always a strain having to ask for help, knowing that the Doctor doesn't necessarily prioritize my messages. But at least when he comes, it's _him_."

"What are you talking about?" Renata sucked in a deep breath and tried to stand on her own. Her legs were a bit wobbly. "No matter what incarnation he is, it's always him."

"No," River disagreed and this time it wasn't just to spite her. "You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them? It's like they're not quite... finished, they're not done yet. Well... yes, the Doctor's here but not my Doctor. Now my Doctor... I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his TARDIS and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor... in the TARDIS...next stop: everywhere."

For the sake of her breath and her own feelings, Renata wouldn't even start about that possessiveness River felt.

"Spoilers!" the Doctor called from the doors, expression a bit suspicious on River. "Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."

River was happy to tell him he was wrong. "It does, actually. Especially for the Doctor."

"I _am_ the Doctor!"

"Yeah. Some day."

Renata scowled at River. "Who do you think you _are_ to say something like that? You supposedly care so much for him but it's only when he's from _your_ time?" River didn't answer, but there was a trace of guilt on her face when she looked away.

The Doctor wouldn't continue with that matter. Who cares if some woman didn't think of him as the Doctor - he didn't even know her! He moved over to Renata with concern. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah…" Renata answered in a mildly strained voice. "But I wouldn't mind if we wrapped this up already."

The Doctor nodded. "I promise you're going to rest tonight."

"Hey, where's other Dave?" asked Mr. Lux after noticing that only the Doctor had come in.

"Not coming, sorry…"

"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita's voice shook with fear.

"I don't know," the Doctor answered honestly. It was a mystery he wasn't very interested in solving. He would much rather get rid of the shadows. "Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."

"It's making a difference all right. No-one's ever going to see my face again!"

"Anita," Renata made her way towards the woman, albeit on rocky feet, and offered her kindest smile. "Calm down. How about we get you something?"

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"

"...working on it. Well, the Doctor is. I'm a bit on the fence myself."

"Listen, I can tell that you and Professor Song don't get along very well, but after she told you something...she whispered...you started working with her. I could do with something that will distract me. What did she say?"

Renata hated to be a downer but there was really no other way to put what River did to get her to settle down. "She basically blackmailed me." If Anita's visor wasn't dark, Renata would've seen her eyes widen. "Pretty smart, I'll give her that."

"Why would she…?"

"Because I'm not a good person, and she knows things about me that could hurt someone I love. I can't let that happen. But you, Anita, don't need to worry. You are safe with us."

"Safe?" the Doctor overheard Renata's promise, but something about it rang a different tune.

"That's what we're going to be, right?" Renata's eyes warned him to follow her lead. Anita needed some positivity here.

"Safe. You don't say saved, nobody says saved, you say safe. The data fragment! What did it say?"

"4,022 people saved. No survivors," Lux said. Like the others, he wasn't getting it.

"Nobody says 'saved'!" the Doctor shook her head. "Nutters say saved, you say safe. But you see, it didn't mean safe, it meant... it literally meant... saved!" With a beam, he dashed to the nearest information terminal to prove his point. He brought up the original scan of the 'survivors'. "See, there it is, right there! A hundred years ago, massive power surge, all the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm, the computer tries to teleport everyone out."

River's eyes widened. "It tried to teleport 4,022 people?"

"Succeeded, pulled 'em all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them, nowhere safe in the whole Library, Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. 4,022 people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It saved them?"

"The Library, a whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved 4,022 people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

"This whole time they've been saved on a computer and we've been hopelessly running around?" Renata scrunched her face.

An alarm suddenly went off, scaring everyone in the room.

' _Autodestruct enabled in 20 minutes.'_

River noticed something else on the terminal screen and began to panic more. "What's maximum erasure?"

"20 minutes, this planet's gonna crack like an egg," the Doctor wasn't even surprised of their bad luck streak by that point.

"No! No, it's all right, the doctor moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect CAL," Lux said, sounding very sure of it. However, only a few seconds after he said, the terminal screen went blank.

"I don't think that's going to be the case anymore," Renata presumed that was their warning this so called 'doctor moon' wouldn't working properly.

_'All Library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience. Shortly…'_

"We need to stop this, we've got to save CAL!" Lux showed an unusual amount of concern for the program.

"What is it, what is CAL?" the Doctor asked him.

"We need to get to the main computer, I'll show you!"

"It's at the core of the planet!"

"Well, then. Let's go!" River used her sonic on a particular symbol on the ground, opening a piece of it up. "Gravity platform!"

The platform brought them down to the core of the planet, but that took them 5 minutes alone.

_'Help me. Please, help me.'_

The group began to hear the distant cry once they arrived at the core. It was a distinct cry, however, because the voice was soft and high-pitched.

"That's a little girl's voice," Renata realized first. It made her heart pound thinking that a child was left alone in a place like this. "We've got to help her!"

Just as she was about to run, Lux grabbed hold of her arm. "Don't bother." His words almost outraged her.

The Doctor and River had gone straight for the controls of the super computer and found some interesting things.

"Doctor, these readings…" River stopped moving things around just to make sure she wasn't making a mistake.

"I know, you'd think it was... dreaming," the Doctor glanced back at Lux who still hadn't let go of Renata.

"It is dreaming...of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written," he said, unusually soft for that matter. He let Renata's arm go and sighed.

"Computers don't dream," Anita told him.

' _Help me. Please help me_ ,' the same little girl continued to say from somewhere in the room.

"Not...not unless it's not just a computer?" Renata began to piece some things together and turned to Lux for the right answer. "What is it, exactly?"

"A little girl," he went to a specific control and pushed a lever to open a new door. He led them through it and waited for a Node to face then. It wore the face of a little girl, the same girl who had been asking for help.

"It's the little girl. The girl we saw in the computer," Renata whispered. She had seemed so normal...how could she be a machine?

"She's not in the computer. In a way, she is the computer," Lux began to explain. "The main command node. This is CAL."

"CAL is a child!?" the Doctor shrieked in outrage. He marched up to Lux. "A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!"

"Because she's family! CAL... Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library, and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time, any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything. He gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

"So that patent you were going on about...it wasn't just a patent. You were trying to protect her?" Renata nodded at the Node of the little girl.

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's forever," Lux said.

"And then the shadows came…"

' _Shadows. I have to... I have to save. Have to save…'_

"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the Library, folded them into her dreams and kept them safe," the Doctor managed to smile like they weren't in danger. A little girl doing the impossible.

"Then why didn't she tell us?" asked Anita.

"Because she's forgotten. She's got over 4,000 living minds chatting away inside her head, it must be like... being... well, me."

Renata's stare on him was comical if the situation wasn't so dire. "I'd love a head examination…"

"Okay, so what do we do?" River questioned urgently.

' _Autodestruct in ten minutes.'_

"Easy!" the Doctor exclaimed. "We beam all the people out of the data core, the computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult, Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer. Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer and she can borrow my memory space!"

"Difficult! It'll kill you stone dead!" River shouted at him.

"Yeah, it's easy to criticize!"

"She's right!" Renata pushed her way up to him. "Something like that will burn out both your hearts and there's no regeneration for that!"

"I'll try my hardest not to die!" he had a response for everything and he made it sound so convincing. Too bad Renata knew him perfectly well. "Honestly, it's my main thing!"

"I think not!"

"I think 'yes'! I'm right and this works!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Shut up!" he promptly covered her mouth for a moment to get the other instructions going. He locked eyes with River and before she could have her go, he started commanding. "Now listen, you and Luxy-boy, back up to the main Library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as your air, shut up!"

River looked ready to murder him. Ironically, she had the same look as Renata. "I hate you sometimes!"

Renata pushed the Doctor's hand away from her. "The second thing we can agree on for today!"

"Just do it!" the Doctor told River.

She sighed and took Lux with her. "If he dies, I'll kill him!"

"Ha! You'll have to get in line!" Renata responded to her parting words. "Cannot believe you're thinking of doing this!"

"I have to," the Doctor said matter-of-factly as he returned to work on the computer terminal.

"No, you really don't."

"Look, this is the only way the Vashta Nerada will get what they want and people get to live."

"What's going to happen to them?" Anita wondered.

"These are their forests. I'm gonna seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content!"

"So you think they're just gonna let us go?"

"Best offer they're gonna get."

"You're gonna make 'em an offer?"

"They'd better take it, cos right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what…" the Doctor paused briefly to glare at the woman. "I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying, and she never gave in. And you ate her."

Renata turned to the spacesuit and looked down. She was horrified to see only one shadow underneath her. When the Doctor sonicked Anita's visor, returning it to normal, all that was left was her skeleton.

"I'm gonna let that pass. Just as long as you let them pass," he warned.

"How long have you known?" the skeleton asked.

"I counted the shadows. You only have one now. She's nearly gone. Be kind."

"These are our forests. We are not kind."

"Yeah but these people are not at fault," Renata argued. "They were here reading to their hearts' content. You had no right to kill anyone."

"I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go," the Doctor said a warning, not a question.

"These are our forests…" the Vashta Nerada reiterated. Renata took a step back when she saw the shadows creeping from the body. "They are our meat!"

"Don't you dare talk about them like that!" Renata balled her fists in anger. The golden energy resurfaced and glowed stronger than it had before. It seemed to ward off the shadows for a moment.

The Doctor, still, quickly yanked her back. "Don't use...whatever that is. We don't know how it affects you!"

"I really wish I knew how to control it, but this is where we are!"

"And you," the Doctor looked at the Vashta Nerada in case it got any more funny ideas about its shadows. "Do not try that again with my friend in the room. You also just killed someone I liked, that is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up."

It seemed to do the trick. "You have one day," the Vashta Nerada granted before the skeleton collapsed on the ground.

River yelped at the same time the bones hit the ground. "Anita!"

"I'm sorry, she's been dead a while now. I told you to go!" the Doctor made the gesture for her to leave but she shook her head at him.

"Lux can manage without me. But you can't go through with this."

"I have to!"

"No, you don't!" Renata turned to him. "You really don't! I can do it!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" the Doctor scoffed. "Better me than you!"

"NO!" Renata frantically shouted. "You can't do that! If someone's going to die tonight, it should be me!"

"Why would I ever agree to that!?"

"Because I'm already dying!" Renata's scream echoed through the room, passed the room even. It left the Doctor stunned. Even River was left to silently watch how thing would progress from here. The gold was beginning to emanate from Renata's body again, as if to prove what she was saying was true. "Look at me, Doctor. I'm contaminated - infected. I'm going to die at some point, might as well do it now where I can save thousands of people."

The Doctor stared at her in disbelief. "No...no you're...you're not going to die-"

"-yes, I am. Back in Zhe's gallery there was...there was this Ood that Gabby and I sort of connected to and it told me that I was...that I was going to die," Renata couldn't look the Doctor in the eyes as she spoke. Her lies were being released and if this is how he reacted to the smaller one, she was dead terrified of what he would do when he heard the biggest one.

"You never...you never said _that_..." the Doctor whispered. "Why...why didn't you say that?"

"Because there was no point in burdening you with it!"

"Burdening...Renata, we're talking about your _death_!"

"I know that!" Renata gasped and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Don't touch me," she warned when she saw the Doctor's feet taking a step towards her. "The truth is it doesn't matter whether _I_ die, so long as as _you_ are alive. The world doesn't need a liar, it doesn't need _me_. Ever since the Time War ended and I regenerated into this body...I haven't been able to find peace. I try to do good but I end up doing the opposite. I build lies after lies and I'm _so_ tired of it. Maybe this is where my peace is. My death."

"No," the Doctor fervently shook his head. "I can't let you do that. I won't. Your life is important to me. I don't want anything to happen to you because I…" He trailed off. He couldn't do that, not if he was going to die minutes later. There would be no point in telling her anything like that. "I would rather die than let you go."

Renata felt her hearts jolt. There was a bittersweetness that came with those words, but he had no idea. "Funny, you told me that once," she laughed softly, ignoring his confusion. "And you did pretty well without me for centuries. I think...you will be just fine without me a second time."

"What-"

She hated to do it, but she punched him across the face. He fell to the ground unconscious.

"I cannot believe you managed to do this twice," River said once it was just them. Renata turned her head in River's direction, finally seeing the growing fury that filled the woman's features. "How the hell do you manage to always wrap him up like this? He always thought meeting 'Zuriah' was the best thing that ever happened to him, but I know the truth. Meeting her was the worst thing the universe ever did to him."

Renata blinked the tears away that welled in her eyes. She wiped some of the loose tears that had managed to escape. "How do you know who I am? You whispered the name I used before the Naming Ceremony, how...?"

"Because I learned everything about you. I learned everything about all of you. I had to. And I saw the truth about you!"

"How…? I don't understand anything!"

"I don't expect you to. But if this is going to end the way I know it will, then I have to get everything off my chest one last time," River walked up to face Renata. Her blue eyes narrowed on Renata's. "You claim to be proper and classy and all these things that are supposed to make you a good person, but the truth is you are nothing but a _liar_. You saying that you're a liar is just another one of your tricks to come out looking even better than how they already see you. You always wrap people around your fingers. And I say this independently of my hatred for you. A liar is what you are."

For all the things that ran in Renata's mind, she couldn't think of what to say. Her eyes were beyond blurry with tears. No one had ever expressed _that_ much hatred for her. She was, shamefully, pretty much liked by everyone. But the way that River looked at her - glared at her - and talked to her...she wondered what she could've possibly done to her. Had she hurt her? "River, I'm really sorry for-"

"You lied to the Doctor all those centuries ago," River said, skipping over whatever apology Renata was about to throw her way. "You played with him, broke his hearts-"

"I didn't mean to! I loved him-"

"You don't break someone's hearts the way you broke his!" River shouted in her face, frustration mixed with anger.

"I didn't have a choice!" Renata almost stomped her foot. It was so unfair but she did what she thought was right in that moment. "I _had_ to let him go! If I ran away with him, he would've gotten hurt!"

"All _lies_ ," River's voice rose to the point that it made Renata flinch. "You chose your family and you know it. You were a coward back then, a good liar. Now fast forward to where you are now: you're _still_ lying. You with prim clothing, your _gracefulness_ , your sweet smile...you've been lying to the Doctor about who you are," River looked her over in clear, honest disgust. "Letting him think God knows what."

"I didn't know how to tell him," Renata weakly argued.

"No, it won't. You're just too afraid, a coward. And you know what, I may be a terrible person as well...but I was _never_ a coward. I said what I wanted to, _always_."

Renata shut her eyes, letting the tears just flow now. What was the point in arguing? She was never good for arguing. "You're right. I am a coward. And I'm so terrible. So just let me die once and for all. Free yourself of me and just take care of the Doctor."

"I honestly would've thought about it," River surprised Renata with her words. "But...you're part of fixed events and those events are important," she shook her head then sucked in a deep breath. "The point is, you can't die. Not right now anyways."

"What are you-"

River used the same technique Renata had done with the Doctor. She punched the Time Lady to the floor. "And I honestly can't say that I never thought of doing that."

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor woke up, he found himself cuffed to a pillar. What's more, he saw Renata's unconscious body a few feet away from him in the same situation as him.

_'Autodestruct in two minutes.'_

The Doctor then spotted River sitting in a chair across from them, connecting the remaining wires to make the download. "Oh, no, no, no, no, come on, what are you doing? That's my job!"

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" she made a face at him then continued to work.

"Why are we handcuffed!? And what did you do to Renata!?"

"Oh nothing she didn't deserve!"

"I swear to God-"

"Oh drop it, Doctor. She's fine. In what fits."

"But _you_ won't be if you don't get out of that chair!"

"You do care," River smiled sadly.

"This isn't funny! Stop this now, this is gonna kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any!"

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I. I'm timing it for the end of the countdown, there'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download."

"River just listen to me! Listen for one minute-"

"It's fine, Doctor, really. I get that this is...this is where I end up. Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean...I guess I should've realized why you and Renata were being so nice to me. I kept taking my jabs at Renata and she...she didn't say a lot back. And you cried - the two of you...you actually cried."

_'Autodestuct in one minute.'_

"Neither of you would tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver - that should've been the main clue. Renata's energy embedded into the sonic…"

"Stop this madness, I beg you!" the Doctor pleaded, pulling on his cuffs to no avail. He spotted his sonic, Renata's current sonic, and River's sonic all lying neatly over her TARDIS diary.

"There's nothing you can do."

"You can let me do this!"

"If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you."

"Time can be rewritten."

"I'd rather not," River admitted with another sad smile. "Because I'd still rather have those times than not have them at all. You'll see me again, that I can swear."

"River, just stop!"

_'Autodestruct in ten, nine, eight, seven…'_

River waited for the right moment and when the counter finally got to one, she plugged the last two cables and let the room burst into a white light.

~ 0 ~

"It was so crazy, Donna, I swear. I was a full blown artist!" Gabby continued rubbing her eyes just to make sure that the library wouldn't disappear into her virtual world again. "I was famous!"

Donna smiled in amusement at the girl. Seemed like her virtual world was just as good as hers. "I think it's just time to go home."

Gabby could agree there. She searched through the crowds of people trying to get home until she spotted the Doctor coming through one of the reception's threshold. "Doctor! Over here!"

He gave a small smile but both women knew it was a farce. That River woman had died and no matter how rude she was, she didn't deserve to die. Plus, they heard Renata got worse in terms of health.

"Any luck, Donna?" he asked the woman. She'd told them all about the nice man she was paired up with in her virtual word and expressed a desire to find him in the real world.

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day," sighed Donna. "Suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?"

"Maybe not…"

"I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Everything," the Doctor said, although he wasn't paying much attention. Donna still turned to him, offended. Gabby cleared her throat and nudged the man on the side. "Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say "nothing". I was aiming for "nothing", I accidentally said "everything"."

Donna rolled her eyes. "I think we should go. Do some well to check up on Renata."

The Doctor agreed. He motioned her and Gabby to walk first then followed after them. They returned to the balustrade where they had first arrived and found Renata lingering near the railing overlooking the city.

"What are you doing out here!?" the Doctor hurried past Gabby and Donna to get to Renata. She languidly tried fighting his hands away from her. "C'mon, you need to go back into the TARDIS. Get some rest."

"I was thinking…" she drew in a breath, once again proving the Doctor right that she needed to go rest.

"You can think later!"

"No, just listen," Renata had taken River's sonic and held it between them. "She hated my guts and to be honest, I wasn't quite fond of her either, so _why_ would I ever give her whatever energy I have?"

"I wish I knew but I don't," the Doctor shrugged. "But I do know that you need to go lie down."

"The things she said to me...I will never forget them. What if...what if we figured out a way to save her? Future you - future me if this infection doesn't kill me for good - had a lot of years to think about this. My energy, coupled with your tech…"

The Doctor's eyes flickered to the sonic in her hands. "I don't make a sonic screwdriver for just anyone."

Renata smiled softly. "Not unless you have a good reason. To protect me, to save her. I would definitely be a part of that, no matter what."

"I don't understand anything," Gabby whispered to Donna who agreed in a hum.

"Something alien, I know it," she said in the same whisper.

The Doctor took the sonic from Renata and examined it. He found a small compartment and opened it up to see the same neural relay of the crew's spacesuits. "Oh, we're good!"

" _You_ are," Renata's smile widened.

"What have you done?" asked Donna.

"Saved her!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Now you stay right there," he pointed at Renata but then thought about it and shook his head. "Actually no, get back to the TARDIS! I'll be back in five minutes!" he planted a big kiss on her forehead then made a run for the reception again.

Renata was startled by his kiss but she ultimately smiled...until she saw Gabby's and Donna's identical smirks. "Oh shut up," Renata shook her head and started back for the TARDIS.

"C'mon, let's get back you to the TARDIS," Gabby chuckled and came to Renata to help her walk. "So, you want to tell us exactly what happened with that woman?"

"Not really," sighed Renata.

Donna came to her other side and helped her walk a bit easier. "I know she's dead but...she was very rude."

"But she said a lot of things that were very right," Renata said quietly. "And I can't fault her for anything, especially when she gave her life for me, the Doctor and everyone else."

They brought her to the TARDIS, straight for her room. Renata could not thank her stars enough that she was able to meet her cushiony bed again.

"Do you need anything?" Gabby asked her once she was settled in.

"A better personality, a better...me," Renata sighed.

"You _are_ the best, silly," Gabby smiled at her but Renata couldn't. She grabbed her pillow and laid her head over it. Gabby exchanged a look with Donna, both understanding that something truly awful had been said to push Renata this low.

"Just...holler if you need anything, okay?" Donna told Renata, but the Time Lady didn't appear to have heard. She was staring into space.

The two women quietly left the room and were sure to close the door behind them.

"I would love to know what River said to her," Gabby said once they were in the hallway. "Nothing nice of course."

"She's from the future, she probably said something from her time," Donna theorized. "Kinda wish I could've gotten to talk to her for a bit more." Gabby shot her a look, offended on behalf of Renata. "Oh calm down. She just didn't seem to know much about me. She knew you, she knew the Doctor and Renata but...she didn't seem to know me."

"Donna, I get the feeling that River Song is going to be one whole annoying mystery," Gabby said with a sigh. She wasn't precisely looking forwards to that.

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor returned to the TARDIS, he was stunned to find out that River was right. The TARDIS _could_ open up with a snap of a finger. After getting them off the Library for good, he thought it best to go see Renata. He was gentle when he knocked on her door. She allowed him in but didn't know it was him until he opened the door. She was curled up in her bed, hands hugging the pillow her head was resting on. She was the image of exhaustion. He wondered if she'd been able to get a small nap in-between, but he honestly doubted it.

"Did you save her?" she asked as soon as she saw him. She tried pushing herself upwards but the most she got was leaning her head against the headboard.

"We saved her," the Doctor eased her worries. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the side of her bed.

She smiled from ear to ear at the news. "Oh that's so great!"

"Your energy helped create a new image of her inside the data core. I reckon she might have a few butterflies here and there."

"Sorry," she wrinkled her nose. A parting gift for River, she supposed.

The Doctor looked at her for a long moment, eyes scanning her weary facial features. Her pale skin had yet to regain any of her original color. And he wouldn't even bother touching her to feel how hot she was. Things were getting worse. "How long have you been like this?" he finally asked her. "With the butterflies? And _please_ be honest this time."

Renata sighed. "I'm not sure. It all started when we went to Zhe's gallery. The butterflies sort of...just popped in not too long ago."

"And that Ood's prediction?"

"That...that happened a long time ago." Renata lowered her head.

"Renata, _why_ didn't you tell me anything? I don't...I don't understand why this keeps happening. Do you not trust me enough?"

Renata closed her eyes. "I don't know why I do half the things I do - well, actually I do. I'm terrible."

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I really am. River was right: I'm a liar. I've been lying to you, Doctor and I'm so sorry but I'm also so scared," Renata finally confessed and truly looked the part. It disheartened the Doctor to see her so afraid. "I'm so scared that when I finally tell you the truth you'll hate me. And after what happened in King Henry's palace, I...I realized just how _much_ I still love you." Naturally, the Doctor froze in his seat. Renata could barely look at him while she kept going. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm really, _really_ sorry." Her eyes filled with tears, her breathing speeding up within seconds. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you. You have to believe that. I never wanted to hurt you but-but I'm not good at relationships."

"What are you…?" the Doctor trailed off when she reached for one of his hands. He was rather scared for that terrible ragged breathing pattern she suddenly picked up.

"If there's something you have to believe it's that I _honestly_ thought that I was doing the best thing for both of us. It was all over, I hurt you once I didn't want to hurt you a second time. When I met you back in 1913, I wasn't in a place to tell you anything. I was trying to heal on my own, and I...I couldn't tell you. Then time passed by and I just got so scared."

"Renata, I think you need to get some rest," the Doctor patted her hands. She was talking nonsense now!

Renata smiled through her tears. "My favorite place was the observatory. We would spend hours there together. You would tell me all the places we would go to one day and then I would tell you that you were being ridiculous. Home is where we had to be." The Doctor's eyes gradually widened with her memories, she couldn't know any of those memories! "Gallifrey is where I wanted our home to be, but the stars were so tempting too. And you knew that. You always seem to know more about me than _me_. I was some scared coward and you were always so brave, so bold...so charming."

The Doctor's mouth opened several times without a word to use. Those memories were so vague that no one would know what she was talking about, but he did. He absolutely knew it. But it was wrong. Those things, those things she was talking about... _she_ couldn't have known them. They weren't hers.

Fresh tears rolled down Renata's face. She lowered her gaze the longer he stared. "The first time we kissed I was so mad at you...I was mad that-that I actually _really_ liked it."

"I'm not...how... _what_?" the Doctor pulled his hand out of hers.

Renata tilted her head, her smile turning into a light, short chuckle. "You named each of my freckles after a constellation. You would...you would trace your fingers over my skin, tracing each of my freckles like connect-the-dots, and I would always watch you..."

* * *

_A young Zuriah laid on the floor in one of her charity's rooms. She laughed while the Doctor tried to fix the projection she recently acquired from a generous donation. "Please don't hurt yourself," she warned._

_The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and smiled when he heard another giggle. He was standing on a chair trying to connect the last few wires of the projector. "I've almost got it. I think your young ones are going to like this one."_

_"Yeah? I thought it would be nice to give them some education while also having a little bit of fun."_

_The Doctor sarcastically gasped as he hopped off the chair and dusted his hands off. "Zuriah, having **fun**?" _ _Zuriah rolled her eyes at him while he came to lay down next to her on the floor. "I **am** rubbing off on you."_

_"Projector, on!" Zuriah gave the instruction instead of falling into his sarcasm games. Soon as the projector caught her voice order, it dimmed the lights of the room. Oh, what should we ask it to show us?"_

_"Hm...projector, show us some constellations will you?"_

_The lights turned pitch black only to be then illuminated by the glowing forms of the constellations._

_"And these are only just a few," Zuriah was breathed in awe. "Sometimes, I guess you **are** right. It would be nice to see some of them."_

_The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Does it actually pain you to admit that I'm right sometimes?"_

_Zuriah slyly smiled at him. "Maybe."_

_"And **I'm** terrible," the Doctor shifted on his side to smile at her._

_Zuriah thanked the lights were near off because right now she was blushing like mad. "Why are you looking at **me**? The constellations are up there," she pointed up at the ceiling._

_"Actually, they're right here too," the Doctor said, confusing her as he traced a spot over her cheek. "I deem these freckles..." he gently moved his fingers over a few more freckles, "...the constellation of Cassiopeia." Zuriah playfully rolled her eyes but he kept moving his fingers over more of her freckles. "And these...these are the Orion constellation. These are the Lyra constellation..."_ _Zuriah swallowed hard while his fingers continued to touch her face, even more so when they started to leave her cheeks and brush over her lips. The Doctor seemed to have lost his train of thought along the way, his eyes now flickering from hers to her lips._

_Zuriah watched him slowly lower himself until their noses touched. She suddenly forgot all about the constellations on the ceiling, and on her face, and tilted her head up slightly to closer the space between them._

* * *

"That was the first night you realized that I really did have a lot of freckles," Renata genuinely chuckled to herself, knowing that by now the Doctor wouldn't share the same feelings towards those memories. "We kissed for hours there, watching the constellations...naming the rest of my freckles."

The Doctor was staring at her in utter shock. Those were _his_ memories, his precious memories with...with...Zuriah. They were _his_. There was no way _Renata_ could know about them. Unless...

He met Renata's gaze, her teary red eyes telling him that he wasn't wrong. But if he needed to hear it out loud, then she would do it. Renata exhaled a shaky breath. "River was right, I do have 3 names. Renata... _Zuriah..._ " she swallowed terribly hard, almost choking as she got the last name out, " _Gala_. It's me. I'm the girl who made the wrong choice all those centuries ago, and I am _so_ sorry."

The Doctor's mouth fell open in shock. There was a swirling feeling in the pit of his stomach but he had no idea what it was, at least not in the first few seconds. His mind started to flash and give him all the clues he'd neglected in the past.

The toast with sugar…

The things she seemed to know about him from _before_ they met…

The charity work.

Even _the_ _Master_ had known. It was why he kidnapped Renata in the first place. He knew who she was.

"Doctor, say something please," Renata was chewing on her bottom lip while she waited for his reaction.

There were plenty of things he was thinking of, but he couldn't put them into proper sentences. He silently, and slowly, rose from the bed, and backtracked a few steps. _This is why everything was so familiar._ He ran his hands through his hair, beginning to exhale loudly as he paced. Everything _was_ familiar because he'd already done it. He had already shared a version of these recent moments with her...a long, long time ago.

"Doctor?"

"No!" he pointed at her. "Absolutely not!"

"It's hard, I get it, but-"

"NO!" he shouted over her, choosing to ignore the hard flinch she gave. "I don't - this is _not_ it! I can't have...I can't have just _missed_ something like this!" But deep down he knew he did. From the start he'd been so drawn to Renata, even as a human! 'John Smith' had fallen for her in mere days! Even the human version of him saw it. He was naturally drawn to her and he always chalked it off to the fact she was a Time Lady.

"Doctor, I'm really sorry!" Renata tried to get up from the bed but he backtracked the steps as if she was already going for him. Hurt flashed across her face but no more than what was already on the Doctor's face.

"You were lying! This whole time!"

"I was, I was and there's..." Renata swallowed hard, "There's nothing I can do to make it better-"

"You can't!" the Doctor agreed with a harsh yell. "God, Renata - _Zuriah_!" He shook his head. "How could you...how could you _do_ this to me!?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"I _kissed_ you! I _fell_ for you! And all this time you've just..."

Renata snapped her fingers at him, stopping whatever false idea was about to cross his mind. "No! Don't you ever think that I was playing with you! I loved you back then and I love you now! You have no idea what that kiss did to me. It reminded me why I made the choice I made on Gallifrey. Why I made the choice to tell you _today_. Because I _love_ you, Doctor. I may be a terrible woman, I may be a liar and I am sorry but I _do_ love you. And even if you hate me, I will always love you."

"You got a funny way of expressing that love," the Doctor scrunched his face with raw anger, a very familiar anger if he was being honest with himself. His mind immediately flashed to that awful night that set them apart, the night he tried so hard to forget. "I always thought that the night you refused to run away with me was the most painful moment of my life...but I was wrong. You haven't said 'no' to me again but you were doing it all over again. You were making me fall for you all over again...and in the end, what were you going to do? There's no other Time Lords to marry this time."

Renata actually felt the stab in her hearts. She 'chose' to end things with him and marry her late husband. "That one..." her voice involuntarily cut off, "You can say anything else but not _that_. You married somebody else too."

"BECAUSE YOU-" the Doctor started to yell again, aggressively gesturing towards her, "-DIDN'T WANT TO BE WITH ME!"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Renata cried.

"YES IT IS!"

"NO! No it wasn't!" Renata gave up trying to get out of bed so she scooted herself off the headboard. "Doctor, you have to listen to me! There's something I never told you about that night!"

"Save it! You said everything you clearly wanted to that night, you shouted it at me!" the Doctor shook his head at her. "This time, _I'm_ the one ending things. _I_ get to leave _you_!"

"Doctor!" Renata called after him as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. She honestly could die right there and not protest. She was thoroughly disgusted with herself that the only way to end it was to just...die. What was the point of her if all she did in life was hurt people?

Her palms were glowing again.

* * *

**Author's Mote:**

I mean...things sort of got away from Ren, huh? It was a pretty hard moment to write but it had to be done. And as for the bit with River...I have some plans brewing :). But I must say, it's all going downhill from here ladies and gentlemen. Fair warning that just like Midnight, I'm skipping 'Turn Left' but sort of rewriting a small piece of it to fit with this story. You'll see what I mean! It's all happening differently basically!

As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit

And here's a sneak peak of the next story as a thank you for everyone who's read this story! Seriously, thank you! And I hope you guys continue to read more as it comes! :)

**Sneak Peak:**

And a moment later, the Doctor heard a distant moaning. He froze, letting his eyes dart to the dark 'walls' of the so-called cave. "Er...it's not a floor, it's a…" he put his screwdriver away and prepared the best way to explain his discovery. "So…"

Renata narrowed her eyes on him. With all her thrashing, she missed the moaning. The Doctor was grateful for it because now he had a few minutes to come up with a way that wouldn't get him killed.

"What is it?" she demanded in a dangerously low tone.

"The next word is kind of a scary word." And it was a pretty scary moment for _him_ right now. He moved closer to her, taking her sticky hands into his. "Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place. Go 'omm'. Everybody! Omm! It's a tongue," the Doctor had swallowed very hard, almost making it so that Renata couldn't understand him. Almost.

Her dark eyebrows arched up as her eyes widened. "A... _tongue_?"

"Aha...a great big tongue!" He couldn't help the excitement that crossed his face for a moment. It was a _tongue_! They were standing on an actual tongue! When could that ever happen!?

It was that same excitement that drove Renata _mad_. "I'm gonna kill you!" she pushed him away. "I hope you've enjoyed your small time in that new incarnation because it's about to end!" She actually lunged on him, knocking them both to the ground. Her hands may have curled around his neck but she got a taste of the food refuse from their splash and nearly gagged on the side.

* * *

Tsk, tsk, Renata finally _snaps_ and commits murder? Is that a possible future or not? Will the Doctor survive? Stay tuned for season 5 xD

(But on another note, I laughed SO hard when I wrote this in the actual chapter)


	24. The Night of Heartbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Renata relive their secret relationship they shared in their early days on Gallifrey and it is then that the Doctor learns the true reason why Renata refused to run away with him on the eve of his wedding.

_When the Doctor showed up at Zuriah's foundation, he found she wasn't alone. As the woman assorted several glasses, the other woman - a blonde - helped place glasses on another table. They were in the middle of a conversation, or it rather seemed like the blonde was doing most of the talking while Zuriah gave acknowledging nods every now and then._

" _Listen, Assessor, it's all nice until…" Zuriah had stopped when she noticed the Doctor by the threshold. "Hello…"_

_With a clearing of his throat, the Doctor gave a meek wave of a hand._

_The blonde woman beside Zuriah gave an expectant look between the two, eventually clearing her own throat to get them talking again. "Well, what's going on?"_

" _Nothing," Zuriah put down the glasses in her hand and grabbed a towel to clean her hands up. "Um, Doctor, you weren't meant to be in today."_

" _I thought you could always use a hand," the Doctor shrugged his shoulders._

" _You're the Time Lord sentenced to community service," the blonde Time Lady spoke up once she had the right idea. "My poor sister…"_

_Zuriah elbowed the woman on the side. "Um, Doctor, this is my older sister. You may know her-"_

_The blonde Time Lady took initiative and walked up to the Doctor. "I'm the Assessor, part of the Higher Council?" The Doctor nervously smiled at the woman._

" _No need to put that in your introduction," Zuriah lightly scolded the blonde._

" _I just want to remind those with criminal charges to be mindful of their actions," the Assessor smirked at the Doctor. "Especially when he's working with someone who's family works in the higher rankings."_

" _Assessor!" Zuriah called, but the elder sister was smirking at the Doctor._

" _Just reminding," the Assessor raised her hands and backed up to where her sister was. "Anyways, are you going to listen to my ideas?" she went back to Zuriah._

_Zuriah made a motion for the Doctor to come closer. They really were in need of an extra pair of hands. "Can you help me set up on that table?"_

" _Of course," he grinned at her. She offered one of her small smiles in return._

_The Assessor noticed their little moment with a degree of curiosity. "Zuriah?" her call made the younger sister flinch._

" _Yes?" Zuriah quickly returned to her sister while the Doctor headed for the designated table._

" _My idea?" the Assessor reminded. "About using the cups after they've been painted for the ceremony?" Zuriah lowered her gaze to the cups in front of her. "Oh please don't tell me you're still not making preparations! You only get married once!"_

_The Doctor dropped one of the cups on the ground. Its shattering startled both sisters, but only the Assessor looked irritated._

" _Uh, you want to be more careful with those? It's not like you're paying for them, right?"_

" _Assessor, go get us the extra box I brought," Zuriah's order came as a surprise for the elder sister, but Zuriah nodded the Assessor to go._

" _I'm sorry," the Doctor said once the Assessor was gone. He started picking up the broken pieces of the cup from the ground._

" _Don't worry about it. I brought more just in case for accidents," Zuriah walked over to help him._

" _Um, so...you're...you're getting married?"_

_Zuriah sighed. "I was going to tell you-"_

" _-why would you? It's not like you had to," the Doctor cleared his throat and picked up a couple more pieces before straightening on his feet._

_With a frown, Zuriah followed. "Are you upset?"_

" _No, of course not," the Doctor wasn't sure what he was saying but the words just kept coming out of his mouth. "Just surprised."_

" _I'm still processing it myself, alright?" Zuriah said, unsure of why she was explaining herself to him. "After there event last week, it just...it just happened. I've known him for a couple months now and-"_

" _-months," the Doctor repeated with a low scoff._

_Zuriah's frown returned. "Why are you acting like that?"_

" _Like what?" the Doctor stopped to look at her._

" _Like...like that!" Zuriah gestured at him. "When I found out you were betrothed - which you also neglected to tell me - I was...I was happy for you. I talked to Asgari as much as I could and now…it looks like you don't even want to listen to me."_

" _Maybe I don't!" the Doctor snapped at her. He felt his hearts racing and he wasn't sure why._

_Zuriah blinked at his reaction. "Wh...what's going on, Doctor?" her soft voice only made him feel worse._

" _I have to go!" he started making way for the door, ignoring her calls after him. He didn't understand yet but something inside him hurt._

* * *

The Doctor moved fiercely around the console, hands zooming over the controls. He couldn't think very well but there was one place he felt like he needed to go to. It was also good that he wasn't going alone.

"So...so Renata is...she's... she's actually her!?" Donna followed the Doctor around several times before he made her dizzy and had to pause. "She's...she's that Zuriah you were crazy over!?"

The Doctor no longer shared the same shock. He'd gotten over it fairly quick and moved onto anger. And how could he not be angry? All this time she'd been lying, lying to his face. He felt like a true idiot the way he raved about Zuriah in front of Renata. She'd said nothing and let himself drone on and on about her as if she were dead.

"That's…" Donna stopped, letting the last of her sighs slip, "That actually makes a lot of sense. She knew everything about you, how you were...everything. The things she would say - she had that advantage!"

"It was _not_ an advantage," the Doctor spoke up for the first time, his voice so hard that Donna blinked in surprise. "She was...she was lying this whole time. From the very start, she lied."

And of course now 1913 made a _lot_ more sense. Throwing him out of her house when he was John Smith, not wanting to be so close to him... refusing to come along on the TARDIS. She knew who she was, what they had done together those centuries ago, things they _nearly_ did. She was still ashamed. And that thought still hurt him deep inside.

"Well, she didn't necessarily lie…" Donna began, knowing well what she was subjecting herself to. "I mean, yes she did lie about who she was but I don't think she enjoyed it very much." The Doctor scoffed and stopped at a precise stop at the console. "Don't you see? This is why she was always so scared, so reclusive. I'm not saying it was okay to lie, but...well, you know how the story ended better than anyone else. Do you think Zuriah would purposely lie to hurt you?"

"I don't know what she would do," the Doctor shook his head. "I stopped trusting her a long time ago. And now I've stopped trusting Renata too. They're the same: a liar. And no matter what I do, what I say, I'm always the one who comes out hurt."

Donna looked at him sorrowfully. He truly looked the part of being hurt. She didn't know what to think, who to side with...but she did know that right now her friend really needed her. "What do you want to do?" she slowly moved up to his side, resting one hand on his arm, letting him know that she was there.

The Doctor nodded, swallowing hard to push away all those petty feelings for the time being. "I need to go talk to someone. I get the feeling she was the first to learn everything."

"Then let's go, but, um, first let me go do something really quick," Donna made a gesture with her fingers that she'd be right back.

~ 0 ~

Gabby was doing her best not to shout in front of Renata's bedroom door but she could hear Renata quietly crying inside and it was driving her mad not being able to go inside and help Renata. "Ren, please let me in," Gabby leaned on the door as she called in, "Renata? C'mon."

"Hey!" She suddenly heard Donna's hiss and looked over to see Donna running towards her. "Hey! Come here!"

"Donna, what's going on?" Gabby sighed heavily as she drew away from the door. "I heard all the yelling and now Ren's crying in her room. Where's the Doctor? I heard him yelling in there."

Donna reached for Gabby's arm and brought her further away from Renata's room. She quickly explained what happened - giving Gabby the short version of things because of time - and how the Doctor wanted to go see someone to talk about Renata's secret.

"Who's he seeing?" frowned Gabby, feeling upset on behalf of Renata. "He needs to be right here, fixing things with Renata!"

"I know!" Donna shook her head. "But the spaceman's really angry and, honestly, he has a right."

"I know," Gabby had to admit that. "I know he's mad, I'd be mad too, but...but Donna, they _do_ love each other. I can see it now. It can't end like this."

"Oh, it's not," Donna said determinedly. "Because you and I are going to make sure that it doesn't."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"What we always do. You take your uptight Time Lady and I take my dumb Spaceman," Donna was sure that they could figure out how to get them to talk to each other. They always did it. "I'm going to see where he's going and hopefully this person can help talk some sense into him. At the very least, I can help bring the smoke down from his ears. You can talk to Renata, find out why she did it. Why she kept quiet? And just...make her see that even though the Doctor's mad, it won't last. He'll eventually be open to talking."

Gabby bit her lower lip, truly nervous. That sounded like a lot of important tasks. "You really think we can help them?"

"Yes," Donna nodded. "We always do. We've been working on this little get-together for a while now, I think it's about time they actually got together."

"Okay," Gabby nodded along with Donna, "Let's do it."

"Great!" Donna actually smiled like she believed they would do it. "And break!"

Gabby chuckled when she turned and left in a near sprint back to the Doctor.

* * *

" _I didn't think you'd be back…" Zuriah's voice was a quiet one, a whisper really, that wouldn't have been heard if there was anyone else in the room. She looked up from her desk. Her eyes were almost glaring at him and yet the Doctor saw a trace of despondence in them._

" _I was just doing some paperwork," she gestured to a neat folder placed at the edge of her desk._

_The Doctor sighed as Zuriah got up from her seat and walked away. "Zuriah, you don't have to…"_

" _Don't have to what?" Her anger was still laced on her words, enough to make the Doctor wince. "Do paperwork? Yeah, actually I **do**. See, because, it's part of my **job.** " She pushed herself out of her chair, levelling a cold glare on him, "That is something I **have** to do. What I don't have to do is feel bad because I didn't tell you about my betrothal. That is something I have every right to keep to myself."_

" _You're right," the Doctor said simply, but it wasn't enough to convince her that he wouldn't spontaneously shout at her again. It'd been a couple days since the incident and he had a lot of time to cool down and really think about things...and boy had he thought a lot. "You don't have to tell me anything about yourself. I don't have the right to be angry with you for anything."_

_Zuriah's eyebrows knitted together, her suspicion flashing across her face. "What is this? A new approach to arguing? You don't have to say anything, you're done here. Go home, go to…" but she cut herself off. Finishing the sentence was crossing a line she was restraining herself to stay very far away from._ _She'd no idea why though. She wasn't even sure what that line really was about._

" _I don't want us to end like this," the Doctor said. "You are...far too special to leave like this."_

_Zuriah's eyes widened a bit. She felt a warmth fill her cheeks which translated into a stammer. "I-I kn-know that I'm special...you don't have to tell me that. Why...why would you tell me that?" She crossed her arms._

_The Doctor's warm smile made her feel no better about this. "Because it's what I feel." Zuriah's mouth opened and closed twice before she gave up trying to form a decent, coherent sentence. The Doctor slowly walked up to her. "And lately, I haven't really_ _been_ _sure of what I feel."_

_Every step the Doctor towards her, she took back, which ended up making them cross the room. "What-what you...you feel…?" Zuriah repeated, unable to stop her hearts from hammering under her chest._

" _I had no right to be angry with your betrothal," the Doctor sighed, stopping once they were on the other side of her desk. "But it doesn't mean I can stop feeling jealous."_

" _J-jealous?"_

" _Zuriah, you're smart - you are **so** smart - that I know you understand what I'm trying to say here. I like you, I really like you and I can't stop feeling like this," he'd taken a step closer to her, enough so that he could feel her breath hitting his face. She was breathing quicker, probably processing everything he'd said._

" _You can't...you can't say something like that," she suddenly snapped at him, going as far as pushing him away from her. "You're - you're getting married! You can't...you can't do this!" She turned away from him and walked a couple steps away._

" _I'm sorry," the Doctor sadly apologized, knowing the situation he was putting her in was...immoral, the very opposite of what Zuriah was raised to be. "I shouldn't have said it-"_

_She whirled around, revealing angry, teary eyes. "No, you shouldn't have said it! You shouldn't have come back if that's what you were planning on doing! What the hell am I supposed to do with that!?"_

" _I needed to say it, at least once!"_

" _But what **for**!? We're both getting married! What am I supposed to do!? Cancel everything!?"_

" _Well, no - can you?" the Doctor suddenly stopped to think, only further angering her._

" _Of course I can't! That would be...it wouldn't…" But Zuriah seemed more confused than she should be if she didn't reciprocate..._

_Something clicked in the Doctor's head while he watched her go back and forth. It made his hearts skip beats. "You feel the same way." She stopped pacing to openly glare at him again but it didn't stop the big smile spreading across his face. "You don't know what to do because...you feel the same way."_

" _Stop laughing!" She pointed at him. "And stop saying nonsense!"_

" _Oh, I say a lot of nonsense but this is the truth," the Doctor strode towards her, rather confident now. "You have feelings for me too and you can't deny it."_

" _Watch me," she spat and attempted to go back to her desk but he grabbed her arm. "Doctor, stop this!"_

" _Stop what? I just want the truth," he said softly. His eyes bore into hers, pleading her to speak the truth. "Tell me how you feel."_

" _What for!?" She swatted his hands away from her. "There's nothing! You're getting married! I'm getting married! This is not happening!"_

" _You're not denying it-"_

" _-because I can't!" She shouted it to his face._

_It took only two seconds for her to realize what she'd said, but it took the Doctor far less. Before she could move a step, he'd pulled her closer and kissed her. Zuriah's hands reached up to his that were settled on both sides of her head, but as her fingers curled around his - intending on pushing them and him away - she stopped. His sweet lips had captured hers in such a fitting way it seemed like the perfect fit of a puzzle._

_When they pulled apart, Zuriah took in a deep breath, her eyes never leaving the Doctor's, but a huge scowl on her face. She was angry. "We're in trouble…" She might have actually really liked that kiss._

* * *

Gabby was eternally grateful when she was allowed into Renata's bedroom. She supposed Renata had finally cried all the tears she needed to and would now be pulling up that wall to hide her feelings. Gabby wished she could bring Renata something more than a measly cup of coffee, something more to get her out of her bed. Of course perhaps staying in bed is what Renata needed to fully recuperate in terms of her physical health. After the Library incident, Renata had been trying to rest. She was wearing comfortable pajamas with a silk, gold robe over it.

Renata took the cup of coffee Gabby had made for her. Usually she preferred tea but Gabby was American. But when she took the first sip, she tasted something odd in the coffee and scrunched her face.

Gabby smiled in amusement. "It's coffee with rompope."

"With _what_!?"

Gabby took the chair next to Renata's bed and chuckled. "It's Mexican eggnog with rum. It's really good. Mom always says that a little bit of this is good for the heart - or hearts in your case."

Renata's gaze lowered to the mug in her hands. "This is sweet but...I don't think there's anything that can make me feel better." She shook her head. She shouldn't have been hopeful at all. "But what did I expect? I don't deserve peace."

Gabby wished she had the words that could help Renata. All she knew was how to make sweet desserts or some pictures. What Renata needed right now were not desserts nor pictures...she needed the Doctor. And he needed her. She really hoped Donna could convince the Doctor to come back and talk with Renata.

"I think it's good that you finally told him everything," Gabby said after a few minutes of silence. Renata wouldn't even question how she was aware of the situation, figuring the Doctor had screamed it at her and Donna.

"Is it though?" Renata had to ask. If she had kept her mouth shut, then the Doctor never would've gotten hurt. He had buried Zuriah a very long time ago. Things could've stayed like that forever more. But she didn't know how long she could've lasted without falling apart. Keeping so many secrets of who she is was literally tearing her apart. Ever since she had told the Doctor everything, the aggressive heat from her skin had disappeared. She wanted to believe that the heat was an extension of her stress, coupled with the energy of the infection.

"I think you know that," Gabby said softly. "I can't imagine how hard this has to be but...things can get better from here on out."

"I don't know about that, Gabby," Renata pursed her lips together, fresh tears coming to her eyes. Gabby already knew how tormented Renata was, starting with the fact she was once again calling her by her nickname instead of her actual name. "I really hurt the Doctor. I've been lying to him since he found me in 1913 and I've _built_ on those lies with new lies. I've gotten smart and that is never the type of woman I wanted to be."

"I have to ask, and you don't really have to answer if you don't want to, but why did you wait so long to tell him who you were?" Gabby watched as Renata fiddled with the holder of her mug. "I mean, I learned from Donna that, well...you and the Doctor loved each other very much when you were younger."

"I did," Renata said fast, as if her love was in question. "I do, I-I…" she sighed. "It was a complicated relationship - if it could've even been called a relationship."

"What do you mean?"

At this point, Renata felt like there was absolutely no point in _anything_ anymore. She had little energy left and she doubted it was all from her illness. So what if she told Gabby - a 19 year old human girl - about her lives? Who cares. Who cares about anything?

"It was a forbidden love," Renata shuddered a breath. It felt wrong calling it that but if they were being technical...it's exactly what it was. "We-we were both betrothed to different people but...it just happened. If we had been stronger, smarter even, we wouldn't have let it go so far. But he was...so sweet. Annoying, but sweet."

Gabby smiled. It sounded like the perfect description of the Doctor. "So he hasn't changed very much, has he?"

Renata found amusement as well. "Not really. He's learned a lot more, but...he's still the same man I met all those centuries ago. How could I resist?"

* * *

_Zuriah was trying to make a certain craft stay standing on the table but was honestly struggling. She was a creative person but not when it came to building. She needed extra hands to make her ideas come to life._

" _What...are you trying to do?"_

_Zuriah braced herself for the Doctor's commentary before turning to face him. "I read a book. I got an idea. But it turns out...I'm not that good."_

_The Doctor smiled and walked further into the room. He saw several of their tables for the charity's guests were empty of their usual centerpieces. "What's the idea here?"_

" _Uuh. I thought we could use paper for flowers instead of using real flowers."_

" _But wouldn't actual flowers be prettier?"_

" _Well, yeah but, I was thinking that we could have an activity trying to recreate the centerpiece. However," Zuriah air-strangled the centerpiece in front of them, "I can't seem to make that one flower stay standing! It's all lopsided!"_

_The Doctor watched her slowly get red in the face, almost matching her ginger hair. He couldn't help but laugh._

" _Do not laugh at me!"_

" _I can't help it!"_

_Zuriah growled and turned away from him, crossing her arms. "Why are you here?" she demanded in a quiet mutter._

_The Doctor had sobered from his laugh, but he was still struggling not to smile. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Zuriah wouldn't budge. She folded her arms tighter, refusing to look back at him. "Oh c'mon, you know I was only having fun." He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He dropped a kiss to her fiery red hair and murmured against her ear, "How about I help you with your activity? And I promise to give you kisses whenever I can."_

_Zuriah felt her hearts speed up when he gave her a particular soft kiss on her cheek. She turned around to face him. "I'm a very difficult person, aren't I?"_

" _No. A pretty person, yes," he brushed some strands of hair from her face. "A very charitable person, yes. A kind person, yes. A loving person, absolutely!" She rolled her eyes as he continued to list off things. "You are so many things, Zuriah...it's no wonder I fell for you." He leaned down to give her a kiss._

* * *

"So, she told you." Martha Jones faced the Doctor and Donna with a ' _finally_ ' type of smile on her face. The two had come into her office at UNIT without being unannounced, but the Doctor had immediately told her the reason for their unexpected visit. "You know, it took her a longer time than I thought but at least she finally said it."

"How could you keep that from me?" the Doctor asked her in a weak tone, looking as if he felt betrayed by her as well.

Martha blinked and looked at Donna in surprise. "You're...seriously asking me how I could keep quiet about a secret that wasn't mine to tell?" She now faced the Doctor with a _'you better think about that'_ stare.

"You knew exactly who she was, how much she meant to me...and you didn't say a word!"

Martha put her hands on her desk and leaned over it as much as she could. "May I remind you that the reason I even knew about that was because I read her diary!? A book that I wasn't supposed to have!?"

"You read her diary?" Donna repeated in genuine shock. It didn't sound like something Martha would do.

Martha sighed and retracted her body from the desk. "I'm not proud of it. I didn't know it was her diary until it was too late. And...I wasn't at the best place back then. But I learned who she was and…" she once again met the Doctor's gaze, though this time with an earnest expression, "...how much she loved you."

"She shouldn't have lied," the Doctor said, keeping his voice as flat as possible.

"She shouldn't have," Martha agreed, making it clear where her thoughts were. "She shouldn't have lied at all but...I also understand her. How could she tell you from the moment you met that she was Zuriah? The girl who made the wrong choice? The girl who broke your hearts? Could you have told her if the roles were reversed?"

The Doctor's jaw visibly tightened with the question. He didn't want to answer - he couldn't. He would never want to hurt Zuriah. He'd rather die, and he told her that several times.

* * *

_Laughter echoed in the room every few minutes. Zuriah couldn't help herself when the Doctor was being far too ridiculous. They were sitting on the floor with a book between them. He'd found a map from one of the charity's donated books that showed them the Milky Way Galaxy. It was home to his favorite foreign planet, but he was being absolutely silly even for **him**._

_"I'm telling you! I can get you one of Saturn's rings!" he exclaimed. He was loving her reaction. She was far too pretty when she laughed._

_"What would I even do with a planet's ring? Idiot!" Zuriah passed her hands through her hair to tidy it up after so much laughing. She was glad there was no one in the building because they had been way too loud these past minutes._

_"You know on Earth, human children play with um, what were they called? Oh! Hula hoops! You could use Saturn's rings for hula hooping!"_

_Zuriah stared at him in hopes that he would gather some bearings and return to their actual planet. "You are far too ridiculous to be an adult, you know that right?"_

_"I take offence to that!"_

_"Well, I'm not lying!"_

_The Doctor closed the book between them and slid it to the side. He scooted closer to her, his own smile fading. "I have to go."_

_Zuriah understood. He was needed... somewhere else. And that somewhere else included his wife-to-be. Each time their secret dates came to an end, Zuriah would vow that this would be the last time she would put herself in this pain. Her hearts wrenched each time the Doctor had to leave her in order to go see his actual betrothed._ _But then he would come back the next day and she would forget all about it. She had come to love the way he made her feel, the way he would make her laugh, hug her, kiss her...that it would be worth it to go through the pain of having to part in the end._

_"I'll be back tomorrow," the Doctor promised her. Zuriah nodded, like she always would, while pushing away all the thoughts that would remind her how terrible she was. But then he touched her face - like he always would - and offered her one of his sweet smiles. "You are so beautiful," he whispered._

_And Zuriah would blush like mad. No matter how many times her own betrothed would tell her the same thing, she wouldn't get the same feeling. The Doctor just looked at her in a different way, made her feel a different way._

_"Come back tomorrow," she said in a low whisper but made it a plea. Her fingers stroked his cheeks and before she knew it, she had leaned forwards to kiss him. There they would last several minutes kissing like it was something they were allowed to do._

_But they weren't._

_But they couldn't stop._

_And each time they parted, they wished they could have more self control...but they were in too deep._

* * *

"I don't understand, why would you let your families marry you off to different people if you weren't in love?" Gabby couldn't fathom the idea that such a respected, advanced race would cling to those medieval customs.

Renata had downed half the coffee laced with rum and was leaning against her bed's headboard. She gave a light shrug of her shoulders. "It's just the way things were. Families would usually marry their children off to people that would benefit both sides. The Doctor and I were just one of the thousands."

"Well, why couldn't you just marry each other? You were from the same class, right?"

"Because it didn't work that way. I would've loved to if it had," Renata drew in a breath. If she had been able to marry the Doctor back then, perhaps their entire lives would've been based around Gallifrey. Or perhaps they would've traveled together from the very start. Both options sounded lovely.

"The truth is...we were doomed from the start," she brought her mug to her lips. "I loved him so much, but my fear of my family overpowered me."

"You were afraid of your family?" Gabby raised an eyebrow.

"Not _of_ them, but...my family was rather special. My big sister, in specific, was a…"

Gabby smiled at Renata's widened eyes. She could understand that. She had an older sister herself. "Difficult?"

"Something like that…"

* * *

_"You really think they'd give me the money for this?" Zuriah examined the book page the Doctor had found for her._

_He nodded with a seemingly convinced expression. "How could they not give you money for that? It would allow children from the Academy to explore their choices when it comes to picking a new name and career."_

_"I understand the goal, I just think it's a bit unorthodox."_

_"Isn't everything good in life unorthodox?" the Doctor gave her a specific type of smirk that made her blush._

_"Okay, I'll see how we can introduce this idea." She put the book down on the nearest table. "I think we're done with the day, actually..if you were needed elsewhere." Now it was her who gave him a specific type of look. She was sweet and shy, perhaps longing._ _She wanted him to stay a few extra minutes._

_"I'm needed here," the Doctor understood her perfectly. She always struggled to say what was on her mind but he always knew what she was trying to say. He inched closer to her, his hand reaching for hers on the table. She was able to smile sheepishly just before someone walked into the room._

_"Zuriah, we need to go…" the_ _Assessor, Zuriah's older sister, came to a skidded stop when she saw the pair a bit closer than they needed to be. Her dark eyes widened. "What is going on?"_

_Zuriah quickly pulled her hand from the Doctor's and moved around him to get to her sister. "We were finishing up our session."_

_"Mhm," the Assessor crossed her arms and settled a glare on the Doctor. She already didn't like him very much, this would just fuel her hatred even more. "And for that, you need to hold hands?"_

_"We were just talking," the Doctor said quietly. He straightened himself up, figuring it was better for him to leave before Zuriah got into actual trouble. "And Zuriah told me I was finished for the day." He was on his way out when the Assessor called to him._

_"And according to the records, you're going to be done with this place next week." She smirked when he stopped. His expression when he glanced back was almost akin to disheartening. "And then my sister will finally be free from you. We can give her wedding the full attention it deserves."_

_"Assessor, stop," Zuriah whispered, tugging on her sister's arm. She couldn't bear the Doctor's face because she knew that if roles were reversed, she would have had the same feelings. Neither of them liked talking about their respective betrothals, as if in keeping it away made them not real._

_"I'm sure it'll be a lovely wedding," the Doctor said quietly and finally left the room._

_"You didn't need to do that!" Zuriah exclaimed. "Why are you always so mean to him!?"_

_"Because every time I walk into this place he's always here, wasting your time!" the Assessor shouted._

_"He helps me!"_

_"Yeah, get distracted! I have no proof, but I just know that he's responsible for the dozens of break ins into the Academy at night. This place is so close to it, right?"_

_"Oh, c'mon now! That means he'd have to be here late at night!"_

_"Yeah!" the Assessor looked directly into her sister's eyes, towering over Zuriah. "He would, wouldn't he?"_

_Zuriah swallowed hard. The way her sister was staring at her, almost as if she **knew**. "Cece, please-"_

_"Don't call me that," the Assessor snapped. "We are outside. Nicknames are atrocious and you know it."_

_Zuriah quickly nodded obediently. "Well, what you insinuate is ridiculous." She_ _turned away from her sister and walked back to the table where the Doctor had left their book. "I just supervise his hours, that's it."_

_"It better be," the Assessor said, making it sound like a warning. "Because if anyone found out that you and him had a relationship-"_

_"We don't-"_

_"-this family would be in ruins! Your betrothal would be finished!"_

_"That's not going to happen because there's nothing!"_

_The Assessor studied Zuriah's face, searching for something but Zuriah once again turned away. "I hope you're telling me the truth," the Assessor once again warned._

_"I am," Zuriah whispered, hiding her tears the best she could._

* * *

The Doctor had taken a seat across Martha. He felt a wave of fatigue washing over him and it wasn't because he'd been standing too long.

"Doctor, I know that it's hard getting over the fact that she lied, but have you thought about what this means for you?" Martha moved around the desk, coming to bend down beside his chair. Martha seemed so happy, but the Doctor couldn't find it in him to ask what she meant. "Doctor, it's Zuriah. She's _here._ She's alive and she's here. The universe is giving you a second chance to be happy."

"She has a point," Donna's input made the man turn his head at her. "You've told me how much it hurt to leave her behind, especially when...when your war was over. But she's alive."

"Yes, fine, that's all true but...how do I stop being angry?" the Doctor looked between the two women who, of course, couldn't answer his question. "Every time I talked about her, Renata kept quiet about it. She made the wrong choice...again! It's like every time we're so close to making things work...things get ruined. And in a disastrous way."

"Do it different this time," Martha straightened up. "Whatever happened in the past, let it go. Start new. You have the world at your doorstep - literally! You have everything you need to be happy with her."

"I don't know, Martha," the Doctor shook his head. As much as he wanted to think about being happy with Zuriah - Renata - he couldn't get over the anger that flourished. He thought about her continuous lies, one built after the other and it wouldn't stop.

Plus, the past...the past still hurt him.

"She refused me centuries ago," he whispered, voice still raw with pain despite the time that had passed. "I wanted to show her the world but she said no. And even this time when she came aboard, she didn't want it. I literally had to steal her."

"Now wait a minute," Donna put a hand over his shoulder, gripping it so that he would have to face her. "You may have stolen her but she made her decision to stay a long time ago. She's told you that too."

"Plus," Martha began, getting him to switch gazes in the process, "There's something you need to know about...the night you asked her to runaway with you." At the Doctor's questioning look, Martha elaborated. "There's a huge reason why she said no."

* * *

_The Doctor had come into the charity to find Zuriah inside her favorite room: the library. She was enthralled with all the different books that had been recently donated. She always loved going through them before putting them out for their guests to see._ _Right now she was huddled in the corner of a table, a book nearly pressed her to nose. She didn't even notice him coming up to her chair, not until he surprised her with a kiss on the cheek._

_"Gotcha!" he grinned at her shocked face._

_"Can't you just say hello like a normal person?" she tried acting annoyed but her blush betrayed her._

_"I'm not a normal person. I thought that was old news." Zuriah smiled and looked away. The Doctor then noticed that the book she was studying was a dictionary. "What are you looking at that for?"_

_"I'm...beginning to look for a new name," she explained. "My graduation is at the end of the month now and..."_

" _Has anything caught your attention?"_

" _I have...a couple ideas," Zuriah said quietly. The Doctor turned sideways, a smile spreading across his face. "What?"_

_"Are you going to share the ideas?"_

_"Well, it's a surprise! Plus, I'm a bit indecisive. There are so many names and titles to choose from."_

_The Doctor could agree there. It was a stressful moment in their lives. "I can help you," he offered._

_"Actually, I could really use a break from this. I've been looking at books nonstop since this morning."_

_"Are you asking me to distract you?" The smirk on the Doctor's face was blush-worthy but Zuriah was too tired to pretend that she didn't like it._

_"I'm asking you to take my mind off of this title choosing thing. Please?"_

" _Anything you want," he held his hand out for her to take. He pulled her up to his feet and right to him._

" _Actually, before any of the distraction starts...I, um, I started writing your release forms for the community service."_

_That definitely made the Doctor pause. It wasn't like he wasn't aware that his community service was coming to an end, but he had made a good job not to think about it...even though it was next week._

" _Next week...you're officially done," Zuriah said quietly. Her hands gripped his arms the more the silence stretched between them. She knew what he was thinking: reality was beginning to set...for real now._

" _I...I guess that's good…" he cleared his throat, for a few minutes he was unable to look at her._

" _It's supposed to be. Your record will be completely cleaned and-and you can move on from this place."_

_The Doctor looked at her in surprise. "Would...would you like for me to move on?"_

_Zuriah sighed. "It's what you're supposed to do. Doctor, we knew this was coming."_

" _I know but...I don't want it to end," the Doctor exhaled as he let that secret finally go. He couldn't fathom the idea of letting her go, not even for a second. "I-I want to stay with you. I want **us** to...to be together."_

" _Doctor, we know that can't happen," Zuriah smiled sadly at him._

" _Maybe it can…"_

" _It can't. You're getting married at the end of next week," Zuriah felt her hearts break just thinking about that. He was going to marry someone that wasn't her. Someone else would get to be his wife._

" _I don't want to," the Doctor shook his head, but Zuriah gently grabbed hold of his face. She was smiling so softly at him it just reiterated what he wanted. "I don't want to marry Asgari. I want to marry you."_

" _I'd love that, but...it just can't happen. We must do what our families want us to."_

" _But why? Why can't we be happy together?"_

" _Because...because it just can't be. But you," Zuriah's smile became strained as she went on, "I want you to be happy with Asgari. You can have an amazing lifetime with her. She's sweet and kind and...she can make you happy."_

_The Doctor shook his head again. He couldn't do it. He didn't **want** to do it. He gazed into Zuriah's kind eyes and wished he could wake up to those beautiful eyes of hers. What he would give to be that lucky and be her husband. "I love **you** ," he whispered._

" _I love you too," Zuriah said back, taking note that this would be one of their final moments together. So when the Doctor kissed her, she accepted it. He held her tightly in his arms. She had such a petite form that she easily fit in his arms. They let minutes and minutes pass before they pulled away. "I think you should leave early today," Zuriah said afterwards. "Help us cement our reality for next week."_

_The Doctor wouldn't argue then because he wasn't thinking straight. He needed to go home and really ask himself what he wanted to do. So, he took off._

_Zuriah took a moment to herself, trying to ease her tremors of the future. She was just as heartbroken as he was, but one of them needed to appear strong._

" _I **knew** it."_

_Zuriah froze in her spot._

" _I knew you were lying, Zuriah!" the Assessor had come in with a fury no Time Lord wanted to be on the receiving end of._

* * *

"Her sister found out?" the Doctor was stunned to hear the revelation. He couldn't straightaway believe it. Zuriah...Zuriah would've told him...right?

"The Assessor knew exactly what was going on between you two," Martha confirmed, more like insisted. She couldn't let him walk out of her office without knowing the full story that Renata wasn't ever going to say.

"Well that's plain mean," Donna scrunched her face. "Her own sister ruined her life?"

Martha nodded her head. "The Assessor forced Renata to make the choice she did, alright?"

"But how?" the Doctor rubbed his face with a new sense of weariness washing over him. These were things Renata could've told him but _no_...she preferred to keep things a secret. _It's how she was raised_ , he remembered. It was a terrible way to live, yes, but he couldn't just get over what she did.

"How do you think, Doctor?" Martha's face softened with sympathy. "Renata loved her family, she valued them...what do you think the Assessor did to get her to say ' _no_ ' to you?"

* * *

_Zuriah was in tears. The Assessor had shouted how ridiculous she was being, how immoral she was being. What was she supposed to argue in defense? Everything about her relationship with the Doctor was wrong, but then why was she so in love with him?_

" _Being in love - give me a break!" the Assessor glared at her younger sister. "How could you be so stupid to fall for a man like that!?"_

" _You don't know him-"_

"O _h I know him! And I cannot believe you would put our family under this shame! Imagine if Elek's family found out? If Elek himself found out!?"_

" _I'm sorry," Zuriah sniffed. "But it just happened and I couldn't control myself."_

" _You're damn right, you couldn't! Mom and Dad did not raise you to be this wicked! Think about them, Zuriah! What would they say about you if they found out?"_

" _I don't know…" Zuriah didn't even want to imagine her parents' reaction. It was why she'd strove never to think about things from this angle._

" _The shame you will bring us-"_

_"Cece, it's ending-"_

_" **Don't** call me that!" the Assessor yelled, making Zuriah flinch. "We are in public, dammit!"  
_

_"Look, it's all over anyways!_ _He's done here next week and...he's marrying Asgari next week. It's over."_

" _You're damn right it's over," the Assessor walked straight up to Zuriah, forcing the younger sister to backtrack a few steps but was the Assessor still towered over like a child. "Because if you agree to leave Elek for the Doctor, I will make sure he ends up in prison. And I will make sure that this charity is over!"_

" _You can't do that!" Zuriah exclaimed. "The Doctor's done nothing wrong! He's paid his debt for the small misdemeanor! And this is my charity, you have no say over what I do with it!"_

_There came a wicked smile on her sister's face, one that Zuriah had never seen. "I'm part of the High Council and I just know that people wouldn't mind finally putting an end to the Doctor's rampages. And as for this charity? It's a joke."_

_Zuriah's eyes filled with fresh tears. "Please don't do anything to him. He's-he's a good man."_

" _Can't be that good of a man if he's having an affair. And I have to say the same for you: you are a liar, Zuriah. You're a cheater."_

" _I know…"_

" _You better let this relationship die before you hurt this family. If you continue this, you will lose the entire family and I don't think you can live without them...can you?" the Assessor took pleasure seeing Zuriah's conflicted face. She was making a good point. "Think about how much you'll hurt Mom and Dad. Is that what you want? To hurt them?"_

" _N-no, never!"_

" _Then end this relationship. End it for the family...and if you don't, the Doctor will be over faster than you can say his own name. Have you got that?"_

_Zuriah nodded in a shaky manner. She wiped the tears off her face and promised to do what was asked of her._

* * *

"She sounded like a right old bi…" Donna held her tongue for the sake of not talking ill about the dead, but boy did she really want to finish that sentence.

Martha seemed to understand. "I know. It was a terrible thing to do. Right, Doctor?"

The man was still too stunned to string words together. He was processing - there was a _lot_ to process. He never even suspected that the Assessor could have found out about him and Zuriah. He'd always been too hurt to think about his last meeting with Zuriah, he couldn't bring himself to come up with reasons why she would refuse him except because of her family. And he hadn't been that wrong - the Assessor had played a huge part in Zuriah's behavior. He had loved her so much and it had hurt him like hell when she shouted at him that she would never travel with him.

"I need to go see her!" He bolted from his chair and left in such a hurry that Donna nearly fell back from his wind trail.

"I guess I'm staying here then!" She called after him, but it wasn't like he had heard her. With a resigned sigh, Donna glanced at Martha. "Can I get a lift home? Haven't been back in a while."

Martha smiled and nodded her head. "I'll go see about that."

Donna was left alone for a few minutes. She ended up wandering a bit out of the office. She never did learn what the inside of a UNIT HQ looked like. It was busy as ever! Employees were bringing in different humanoids no doubt alien by some of the distinct features Donna caught.

It wasn't until she caught sight of an Asian woman sitting in the corner of a hallway. She was sitting rather lonesomely and since no one was paying her any attention, she seemed to just blend in with the place. She looked human enough. She wore what looked like traditional Chinese clothing. "Are you waiting for someone too?" Donna stopped by.

The woman smiled and nodded her head. "Yes."

"Mind if I wait with you, then? My friend's sort of run off on me - getting the girl and whatnot - and now I'm waiting for a car to get home."

"Of course, sit," the woman scooted down the bench. She secretly stole a glance of Donna. "Would you like me to read your fortune?"

Donna shook her head. "No thanks."

"Don't you want to know - if you're going to be happy?"

"I'm actually happy right now, thanks."

"But you are waiting, aren't you? What better way to pass the time than having your fortune read."

Donna shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. All right, then." She held her hands out and watched the woman trace her fingers over her palms.

"You're fascinating! Oh no, but you're good. I can see... a man. A woman."

"Very remarkable," Donna agreed.

"How did you meet them?"

"You're supposed to tell me!"

The woman just smiled and went on. At the same time, she gave a secret nod as if something else was watching them. "I see the future. Tell me the past. When did your lives cross?"

"It's sort of complicated. I ended up in the Doctor's spaceship on my wedding day. I met him first."

The woman seemed to understand and pushed further about the Doctor. "But what led you to that meeting?"

"All sorts of things. But my job, I suppose. It was on Earth... this planet called Earth, miles away. But I had this job as a temp. I was a secretary at this place called H.C. Clements." And for a brief moment Donna felt like she'd been pulled right back to that moment. She shook her head fast. "Sorry, I-I don't know what happened."

"This job of yours - what choices led you there?" the woman continued fast. She was looking at something behind Donna then, but the ginger didn't notice.

"There was a choice... six months before. The agency offered me this contract with H.C. Clements."

"Your life could have gone one way or the other. What made you decide?"

"I just did."

"But when was the moment? When did you choose?"

Donna wasn't sure if she liked how pushy this woman was. There was something about her look too that didn't sit well with her.

"But what if you turned right? What then?"

"How did you know I turned left?" Donna found herself asking. She had only mentioned the jobs, never the fact that each job laid on the left and right of where she lived. "Let...let go of my hands. I think we're done. I need to find Martha."

But the woman gripped Donna's hand. A sinister smile spread across her face. "Silly humans. You're always so gullible."

"Who-who are you!?"

"They thought they could capture me but I let myself get captured." The woman pulled Donna forwards. "They brought me right to the source of humans in this building."

"Let go! Let go right now!" Donna shrieked when she felt something climbing up her back. It was making a constant clicking noise but no matter how much she turned she couldn't see it. "What's on my back? What is it? What- what's on my back?"

The woman had gotten more vicious as she held onto Donna's hand for dear life. "Make the choice again, Donna Noble, and change your mind. Turn right."

As much as Donna tried to pull her hands from the woman, she just couldn't. In fact, the effort seemed to start fading as her vision blurred. "I'm...turning...right…"

And she knew no more.

~ 0 ~

Gabby didn't know whether to be in awe of feel fury for what she just learned. She watched as Renata calmly sipped the last of her coffee in bed and wondered how the hell she could be so calm when her sister practically helped destroy her life.

"How could your sister do that to you?" She finally found the words that wouldn't outright curse the Assessor. "She-she blackmailed you."

"She didn't blackmail me, she...she just gave me a choice," Renata gripped her mug. "And I made the wrong one."

"No, Renata, she _blackmailed_ you. She…" Gabby needed to calm herself down so that she could get her words out in one go. She switched from her chair to the bed. "Renata, she told you to refuse the Doctor or she would hurt him. She was going to end your charity! And she manipulated you with your family - she made you think that she was doing it _for_ family but...she was blackmailing you." And suddenly, Gabby loved her older sister, Blanca, even more. No matter how many arguments they had, nothing compared to what happened between Renata and the Assessor. "That's not what a sister does."

"But she was my sister," Renata said in a resigned tone. She had long ago decided that. "She was my only sister and I didn't want to lose her nor my family. I confess...that I was scared. I was a scared girl who didn't want to lose her sister nor her parents."

"And that's understandable," Gabby promised her. "Nobody wants to lose their family if they have something to say about it, but you have to listen to me. What your sister did was unforgivable. She made you feel like you were stuck between 2 walls."

"But I was," Renata lowered her mug to her lap. "I had the Doctor on one side and my family on the other. No matter what the Assessor did...it was always going to end that way. I would have to choose...and I chose. And I stupidly-" her eyes became glossy fairly fast, "-had the audacity to hope that the Doctor would come back and fight for me. I was selfish to think that, and for a while I was really mad at him for leaving. It was like...if I was angry with him then it would hurt less and I could move on. But, the truth was, I was at fault."

"Yes, but the circumstances led you there!" Gabby desperately wanted Renata to see it from her angle and then maybe, just maybe, Renata would be able to let go of some of her guilt. "No one should have to make the choice you were forced to."

Renata wanted to believe in Gabby's words, believe that she wasn't completely terrible...but the centuries of time had given Renata much to think about.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. "Renata, can I come in?"

Renata's eyes widened with the Doctor's voice. Helplessly she turned gazes to Gabby, but the girl was one step ahead of her (whether Renata wanted her to be or not).

"Yes, come in!" Gabby exclaimed and jumped from the bed.

"Gabby!" Renata hissed but she was already halfway out the room.

"She's all yours!" she practically pushed the Doctor further ahead then shut the door behind her.

Excitement flourished through Gabby as she made her way to the console room. She didn't know what Donna told the Doctor to get him to speak with Renata but she had to know she was the best person ever!

"Donna!" she called as soon as she made it to the console. I don't know what you said to the Doctor but it worked! They're talking! They're…" Gabby trailed off once she realized that Donna wasn't around. "Donna?" Silence. Gabby came up to the console and looked at the rotor. She learned by now that actually talking to the rotor was a thing. "Hey, uh, TARDIS...where's Donna?"

The TARDIS hummed but Gabby wouldn't understand, so the monitor's screen came to life. Gabby scooted over to see the screen scanning for Donna but coming up with no results. "She's not here? Well...then where is she?" The TARDIS hummed again and this time the monitor's screen switched to show her the planet Earth. Gabby laughed. "Oh I get it, the Doctor left her there. He's gonna get it when we pick her up." The TARDIS hummed a response and Gabby was really sure that the box was agreeing with her.

~ 0 ~

"You went to see Martha?" Renata was genuinely surprised to hear that her best friend had become a somewhat intermediary between her and the Doctor.

"I, uh, I needed to understand," the Doctor walked a few steps around the room, still unsure of what he should be doing. "I needed to understand how she could know everything and not tell me…"

Renata straightened her upper body so that she was sitting in bed. "You shouldn't blame her at all. I literally threatened her to keep quiet."

The Doctor inwardly sighed to himself. Of course she would do that. "I'm...I'm just so confused, Renata. And I'm mad."

"You have every right to be. River was right - I am a terrible woman. A liar."

The Doctor wanted to argue that she wasn't, but he couldn't do it with all his hearts in it. No, he did not think she was a terrible woman...but he couldn't really see himself defending her at the moment. He was too hurt. "Why?" He found himself asking and since he'd said it in such a low whisper, he had to repeat it so that Renata could hear him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Renata sucked in a shuddering breath. Her head would turn as if she wanted to shake it as a 'no', but she didn't know what to do. "Because...because I...I didn't see the point-" when the Doctor scoffed in offence, she jumped on her explanation, "-because I didn't think you and I would ever see each other after 1913!"

"And when we did? Why'd you keep quiet, then?"

"Because you had buried me a long time ago and I didn't...want to see you go through this right now."

"Oh, so you did it for _me_?" the Doctor's sarcasm was enough to make her flinch. "Should I be thankful?"

"I didn't want to hurt you like I did in the past - I was trying to keep us from doing this again," Renata gestured between herself and the Doctor, something that just angered him even more.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"I meant this - _us_! I meant us!" Renata frantically shouted, making the Doctor pause for a moment. "Because it doesn't work out for us when we try to be happy together! It didn't work then and it for sure won't work today."

The Doctor finally came up to the side of her bed, taking the seat Gabby had left. "Well I know exactly why we didn't work back then. Martha told me that too." Renata seemed to freeze in her bed. "The Assessor."

Renata looked fearful then. She flickered her gaze to the night stand instead. "My sister is dead. Leave her alone, please."

"I can't believe you'd still want to defend her after...what she did!"

"I'm not defending her, Doctor, but she is - was - my sister. Despite everything, my family was my family and I loved them."

"But how could you say that about...her? Don't you remember?"

Fresh tears rolled from Renata's eyes. "Of course I do," she faintly whispered. "I remember it everyday."

* * *

_Zuriah wanted to avoid seeing anyone tonight. She couldn't fathom the idea of having to pretend like she was okay, like she was completely happy...when the truth was her hearts were so close to breaking into pieces. Every once in awhile she would silently wipe some loose tears off her face and keep moving around her bookshelves to organize the books. She just had to keep distracting herself because if she was distracted, then she could pretend reality isn't...real. And things would be okay._

_But it could never be that easy._

" _Zuriah?" the Doctor stood under the room's threshold. He was jittery - even more than he would usually be - but there was an air of overwhelming nervousness._

" _What-what are you...what are you doing here?" Zuriah said as he rushed towards her. "Your community service finished days ago and-"_

" _-I had to see you!" the Doctor wrapped her in a big hug. A few days without seeing her had been hell. He couldn't do anything and much less think about anything that wasn't her. And for that reason alone, he managed to come up with an idea._

" _No!" Zuriah pulled away from him. The temptation to kiss him when they were that close was too much. "You can't be here - what **are** you doing here? You're…" she lost her voice for a second when she realized what she was about to say. She swallowed hard and forced herself, little by little, to say it and perhaps climb aboard their true reality. "You're...getting married tomorrow."_

_The Doctor almost shuddered. "I don't want to. That's why I'm here."_

" _What?"_

" _I know how we can be together, Zuriah. I've figured it out."_

" _What? You...what!?" Zuriah blinked madly while the Doctor went on with his oh-so plan._

" _Yes, just listen to me because we don't have a lot of time!" he grabbed her arms, squeezing them. "Remember all those times we talked about traveling? Seeing what was out there in person?"_

" _Well, yeah, but-"_

" _-let's do that!"_

" _What!?"_

" _Let's go travel, Zuriah. Let's leave Gallifrey!"_

" _What!?"_

_The Doctor knew it was a lot to ask for, and even more so when they didn't have enough time to discuss it properly. "I don't want to marry Asgari, and you don't want to marry your betrothed, so let's not get married! Let's get out of here!"_

_Zuriah was, by now, tired of saying 'what' and not asking the right questions. "What you're saying is completely **mad**! You're asking me to run away with you!?"_

" _Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying we should do!"_

" _Doctor, that's not...what? We can't just get up and go! That's mad even for **you**!"_

" _Zuriah, I know it's a lot to ask for but, I...there's no other way." He gently took hold of her and brought her up to him. "I thought of every other option and...this is it. It's all we've got and I...I can't lose you. I love you." He placed a soft kiss on her lips, one that had her melting in his arms._

" _I love you too," she whispered when he rested his forehead against hers._

" _Let's go," he begged her in a whisper. "Runaway with me. We'll be together and we'll see everything the universe has to show us."_

 _Zuriah closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Her sister's words came rushing back through her mind. '_ _ **Because if you agree to leave Elek for the Doctor, I will make sure he ends up in prison. And I will make sure that this charity is over!'.**_ _She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't do that to him. He'd have to live his life as if he were a criminal, and he was far from that. He deserved to live in peace, to live happily._

_Even if they left Gallifrey, if they went to the end of the universe, the Assessor would come for them both. Zuriah knew her sister like the back of her hand. When the Assessor was crossed, there was nothing stopping her from getting revenge. Being part of the Higher Council had long ago given her the feeling of superiority._ _There was also her family. The Assessor was also right there: if she ran away with the Doctor, her family would be destroyed. Could she do that to them? Be that selfish? She loved them so much, she didn't want to hurt any of them...not even her sister._

" _Zuriah?" the Doctor called to her. "We have to leave now. What do you say?" He was so hopeful that in that moment, Zuriah despised herself._

" _...we can't do this," she said quietly and watched how his face slowly fell. "My family...they would be ruined...and I would destroy their hearts in the process. Plus...I can't do that to my betrothed. He's been nothing but kind to me. And think about Asgari? How would she feel if we did this?"_

" _I'd be doing her a favor. She's going to marry someone who doesn't love her and you're doing the same thing!"_

" _But I can't go!" Zuriah exclaimed, pushing him away from her. "My family is important to me - they always have been! I can't just...leave them!"_

" _So you're choosing them?" the Doctor drew in a deep breath, nodding to himself._

_Zuriah closed her eyes. "I'm choosing to keep you happy and well." She didn't want her sister to bring a full fleet after him, and she would._

" _I can't be 'happy and well' if you're not with me!"_

" _Well you're going to have to learn how! I'm not running away with you! I can't!"_

" _Zuriah-"_

" _I SAID NO!" Zuriah shouted with fresh new tears in her eyes. Her hearts were breaking a thousand times seeing the despondence finally strike his face. "You and I can't run away!"_

" _So you'd rather be here, stuck in an endless void of unhappiness? Married off to someone you barely know?"_

" _Doctor, I'm trying to do what's best," Zuriah's promise meant nothing to him. All he knew was that the girl he loved was breaking his hearts. "You need to go," Zuriah said and mostly for herself because she was tempted to forget everything…_

_But she couldn't, not if she wanted the Doctor to be her sister's target for eternity._

" _Zuriah…" the Doctor tried touching her face but she pushed his hand away._

" _I said go!" she yelled. "You need to go right now! And don't come back again! Just go! GO!"_

_The Doctor's eyes were glossy with tears and before he shed them he turned away._

* * *

In the present day, both Renata and the Doctor still got teary-eyed with the memory.

"The selfish part of me - or the even _more_ selfish part of me - is that I still had hope that you would come back and insist," Renata admitted in a quiet voice. "That you would insist and fight for me. But that was stupid. And far too selfish."

"I did think about it," the Doctor admitted, making her eyes flicker his way. "The day of my wedding...I thought about coming back for you...but I figured ' _what's the point?_ ' You had already made your choice. And I tried looking for you afterwards, I don't know what I would've done if I had found you, but I looked...I just couldn't find you."

"I had an accident shortly afterwards," Renata confessed. "I was too distraught and distracted to notice anything. It too deadly. I had to regenerate right before my graduation. And I figured that was the best opportunity to start anew. So I picked a name that I hadn't told you about. Renata. It means 'to be reborn'. And that's exactly what I wanted...to start new."

"Well congratulations, you did a very good job," the Doctor wasn't sure if his tone was too sharp but he couldn't find it in him to care.

Renata lowered her gaze. "I'm _so_ sorry, Doctor. I've always wanted to say that, to apologize for what I did that night. I truly never wanted to hurt you, but my sister...my family…"

"You could have told me about the Assessor - I could take care of myself!"

"I was scared!" she exclaimed.

"And I wanted to protect you! I wanted to take care of you, Renata! I wanted to love you and spend my entire lives with you!"

"Well I'm sorry. I have never been able to make a good choice - I've always been too much of a coward. And I've caused too much pain."

The Doctor brought a hand to his forehead, rubbing at his skin to take the headache away. "I just...we could've had such different lives together." They would have been amazing together, he knew it. Or was he lying to himself just to prop up his own side? If Renata had come along with him she would've never been able to see her family again. She would've lost them completely and with them, Gallifrey. All for him.

That...sounded selfish.

His family had never been the best and he honestly didn't really see them much after he married. The only true things he cared for after marriage were his own children. So, leaving his family instead of getting married was an easier option for him...for _him_. Renata had always loved her family, even if they weren't the best, and she loved what she did on Gallifrey. She loved her job. She had things tying her to Gallifrey before marriage, he had not. On some level, it _was_ an unfair choice between them.

"But if I had just known about the Assessor...I could've…"

"Done what?" Renata wearily asked. "I was raised to be family oriented. You know that. I loved them and I would do anything for them."

The Doctor couldn't help the scoff that slipped from his mouth. She sure proved that one. She gave up her own happiness for them.

"I don't know what to tell you, Doctor, that could make any of this better. I can only apologize profusely for what I did," Renata drew in another breath. Her stomach wouldn't stop churning at the thought of what he wanted to do next. Well, she had a good idea and it wasn't like it would be completely misplaced. The only thing she could do was get ahead of it and make things easier for him.

"I can leave," she said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "I can leave the TARDIS, give you your space back."

"Renata…" the Doctor wasn't sure that was the best plan, but as it turned out, he didn't exactly have a plan of what to do next. He was too hurt, too angry. "I don't...I don't…"

"It's okay," she assured him. "It's only fair. You need time to really process everything and...maybe later on we can talk without too much anger between us."

The Doctor was just about to say something - though what he would say even he didn't really know - when the TARDIS gave a terrible jolt. Renata yelped as she nearly fell off her bed. The Doctor, however, did fall off his chair, but he popped right back up and frantically scanned the room for any immediate threats.

"What was that!?" Renata scrambled to get her hair out of her face.

"I don't know!" the Doctor bolted out of the room, leaving Renata to do the same. The two were in the console in less than a minute and found Gabby just as concerned as they were.

"What happened!?" Renata rushed to to the girl.

"I-I don't know! One minute I'm just looking at the screen-" Gabby gestured at the monitor that was black again, "-and then the next, the TARDIS just shook! And look!" She pointed at the jar underneath the console holding the Doctor's severed hand. It was glowing again.

"The last time it did that it was...when Jenny…" Renata felt a terrible pit in her stomach.

"Let me see," the Doctor pulled Gabby out of the way to get to the monitor. He went through it fairly fast and made a horrifying discovery. "The Earth... it's gone!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

HERE. WE. GO.

See what I mean about doing things different with the Turn Left & Stolen Earth? I don't know if anyone sees the Flash but there's this character (my dear Leonard Snart) that really explained his planning process as: " _Make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan_ " and that is EXACTLY what happened here. I originally had this entire thing going in a different way, starting with the end of the Library and then suddenly I started writing it like this...I wanted things to go like this, needed them to. So...it happened.

But now we also learned what really made Renata decide not to run away with the Doctor that night. The Assessor played her best cards for that one. And I purposely chose Martha to be the one to explain it to the Doctor because Renata's personality would _not_ have been brave enough to tell him. Martha would have no problem doing it.

So just a little announcement, if anyone cares, I'm actually going back to work tomorrow (also my birthday, on a gloomy Monday, so it's bittersweet because I gotta be up before 7 a.m boooo) so these updates might be a little more sporadic. I mean, it might not even make a difference since my hours could be different with all this corona regulations so who knows. But I just didn't anyone to think I suddenly abandoned the story. (I've had that happen with other authors and it was always so horrible .)

 **P. S:** As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	25. Stolen Planets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renata, the Doctor and Gabby travel to the Shadow Proclamation to find out where Earth has been taken to and discover that it's not the only planet missing. Meanwhile, Donna meets the one and only Rose Tyler.

Donna felt a wicked headache when she finally came to. The hard ground was underneath her, explaining the headache, and though she wasn't fully aware yet, she could feel someone shaking her.

"Donna! Wake up! Donna!" Her mother, Sylvia, was getting more frantic as the seconds passed by.

"What? What happened?" Donna groaned and sat up, soon realizing she was on her kitchen floor. Her eyes found the window and saw the sunlight was gone - it was _night_. It had been daytime last time she remembered. But lots of weird things had happened to her in the past day. One thing she was sure of, though, was that she would _never_ visit UNIT again. Some weird alien fortune teller had thrown her into a parallel world just for fun! As soon as Martha and UNIT had pulled her out of that world, Donna had demanded to go home to be as far away as possible from the building.

The parallel world, as scary as Donna was sure that it was, seemed to fade away as the hours passed by. She could barely remember it now but she knew that things had been _terrible_ , far more terrible than what she'd already seen in her travels. Even now it gave her chills trying to remember it, but actually...

Her eyes widened suddenly. One huge detail had just come back to mind.

"I gotta call the Doctor!" She jumped from the floor, ignoring her mother's shouts for her to stay. She was just about to call when she passed the open doorway and saw something that caught her eyes.

She backtracked and slowly emerged from the house, first seeing her grandfather shouting at nothing in particular with a bat in hand, but then she saw the _sky_. Her mouth went dry.

There was no sun, no stars, only big planets accommodated around each other.

"It's them aliens, I'll bet my pension!" Her grandfather, Wild, raged. "You get back inside, Donna. They always want the women!"

Donna shook her head and ran back into the house. She needed to get ahold of the Doctor and Renata _now_!

~0~

Inside the TARDIS, each of its inhabitants were in the same state of shock and terrible confusion. The Doctor had stopped running around the console now and was immersed in the monitor in hopes of making contact with somebody on Earth. At this point, he'd settle for anyone in order to figure out what happened.

Gabby was still by the doors, staring into space - the spot where planet Earth used to be - and still couldn't believe it was gone. She did think of something that pulled her into reality after a moment. "But... if the Earth's been moved... they've lost the sun! What about my family? Cindy! Donna! They're dead!? Aren't they? They're all dead..."

Renata hurried over, her night robe flowing with her quick strides, to pull the girl away from the open doors. She shut them behind them and turned Gabby back for the console. "We don't really know what's happened…"

"But that's my whole world - it's just gone," Gabby felt like her world was spinning - well, her world was gone but she was sure it was the feeling.

"There's no readings, nothing. Not a trace," the Doctor was getting frustrated by the monitor. "Not even a whisper. Oh, that is fearsome technology. And good technology."

"Doctor, let's focus less on the quality of the technology and more on the reason someone would even _build_ that type of technology in the first place," Renata brought Gabby to the Captain's chair in hopes that sitting her down would prevent the girl from collapsing straight to the floor.

"What are we going to do?" Gabby still held a little hope that not everything was lost. Her eyes flickered from the Doctor to Renata and vice versa. They had to know how to do something that could help them. Yes, they were still arguing but when things were _this_ bad, they would surely put everything aside to solve the problem.

"We've...got to get help."

Renata did a double take at the Doctor, unsure if she had heard him right.

"From where?" Gabby feebly wondered. He was the Doctor - who could he ask to help _him_ out?

"You don't actually mean…?" Renata walked over to him, her face still shocked he was openly admitting that this time - just this time - they would need to go to…

"Well Renata, seems like we're finally going to the Shadow Proclamation."

"I don't like being right this time," Renata had just enough time to say before the Doctor started the TARDIS.

~0~

Donna helplessly dialed for the TARDIS number the Doctor had given her, but it just wouldn't work! She'd tried at least a dozen times but the call wouldn't go through.

"Have you gotten ahold of him, dear?" Wilf came into the kitchen.

"No! There's no signal. This number is supposed to call anywhere in the universe! Something must be blocking it!"

"Dad! Donna!" Sylvia cried from the living room. The two ran to see if she was alright (in what fit) and saw the television on.

' _Unidentified spacecraft heading for Earth_ ' was flashing across the screen.

_'We're now getting confirmed reports of spaceships. The Pentagon has issued an emergency report…'_

"They're saying spaceships," Sylvia shook her head, eyes closed to tears.

"C'mon Doctor," Donna dialed her phone with new hope that maybe this time things would work out.

"Who are you calling?" Sylvia demanded when she caught Donna putting the phone over her ear.

Donna only waved her off as she turned away, walking out of the living room. She returned to the kitchen and peered out the window again. This time she saw the huge spacecraft flying over them, looking pretty menacing.

_'Exterminate!'_

Donna froze. Had that…?

_'Exterminate!'_

Donna's eyes widened in horror. She had never seen them but the Doctor and Renata had done a good job of explaining to her how monstrous a Dalek could be. They were part of the reason why their entire world was gone...and it seemed like it was Earth's turn now.

~0~

"So...so we're actually going to the _police_?" Gabby was holding onto the Captain's chair as the TARDIS continued jerking every which way. The Shadow Proclamation seemed to be on a bumpy road. "You mean all this time there has _actually_ been a space police!?"

"Yes!" Renata exclaimed. She was gripping the underneath of the console so she wouldn't slip.

"So how come we never met them!?"

"Doctor, you want to take that one?"

The Doctor's face went momentarily flat at Renata. " _No_. I just never thought I would need them!"

When the TARDIS finally came to a stop, the Doctor was careful as he led the two women out. He warned them they might not be so welcomed considering the messes he'd made in the past. As soon as they came out of the TARDIS - or rather slid out, one by one - they were greeted by a group of armed Judoon. Each gun soon took aim on them and one by one, the trio raised their hands to show they were on neutral terms.

"Sco po tro no flow jo ko fo to to," one of the Judoon began to say. Gabby watched in terror, wondering if they were truly dead now.

"No bo ho so ko ro toe so," the Doctor responded in the same manner. It definitely grabbed Gabby's attention. "Bo-ko-do-zo-go-bo-fo-po-jo!" Whatever he said had made the Judoon lower their guns. "Ma ho." Once the Judoon began filing out, the Doctor turned to Renata and Gabby. "They know why we're here. They're getting the Shadow Architect."

"I'm in the Shadow Proclamation...in my nightie…" Renata had just realized that detail and looked terribly embarrassed. "This is not the place to be in my nightie."

"There's no time, c'mon," he made a motion for her and Gabby to follow. Gabby kept quite close to Renata as they passed several Judoons.

The Shadow Architect turned out to be a tall, Albino woman. She seemed a bit condescending and very much in disbelief of their very presence.

"Time Lords are the stuff of legend. They belong in the myths and whispers of the Higher Species," she said, eyes flickering between the pair in front of her. "You cannot possibly exist."

"And yet here we are," Renata waved one hand while the other arm kept around her waist. She'd become very self conscious now that she realized how terribly under-dressed she was.

"We've got a missing planet," the Doctor rushed to get things moving along, but the Shadow Architect sighed in annoyance.

"Then, you're not as wise as the stories would say. The picture is far bigger than you imagine. The whole universe is in outrage, Doctor - twenty-four worlds have been taken from the sky."

Gabby nearly keeled over. "How many!?" So not only was her world gone, but there were 23 others!?

"And you never thought to make this information public!?" Renata seemed almost outraged. If they had made the information known then perhaps each planet would've had a chance at surviving whatever pulled them from their orbit. "It could have given people a chance! At the very least the knowledge that they needed to be on red alert!"

The Shadow Architect did not like her actions being questioned, but Renata had a glare that nobody could win against. "I...did not think they would believe us."

"If 24 planets are missing I'm sure _somebody_ would've believed you if you had just said something!" Renata couldn't help that her tone had turned into a loud shout. There were too many peoples' lives at stake and nobody had done a damn thing about it so far.

"Show me which planets are missing," the Doctor instructed and since the Shadow Architect had already crossed one Time Lord, she obeyed without a fight.

The group were brought to a high tech computer that held a list of all the planets they had recorded as vanished.

"The locations range far and wide. They all disappeared, leaving no trace," the Shadow Architect explained while the Doctor studied the list. The more he read, the less he understood.

"Callufrax Minor, Jahoo, Shallacatop, Woman Wept, Clom - Clom's gone?! Who'd want Clom?"

"That's rude," Renata remarked beside him. "Whole planet's gone, Doctor!"

"Right," he mumbled and went on.

"All different sizes. Some populated, some not, but all unconnected," the Shadow Architect added.

"Wait, what about Pyrovilia?" Renata found herself asking. "Remember-" she looked at the Doctor briefly, "-way back when we were in Pompeii, Lucius said Pyrovillia had gone missing. Bet nobody batted an eye at it."

"Is that an ancient planet?" Gabby wondered, but in asking she garnered a condescending response from the Shadow Architect.

"Who is the female?"

Gabby scrunched her nose. "Excuse you! I might not be 'the stuff of legends' but I'm every bit as important as Time Lords, so give me some respect. Also, my world just vanished so I demand some sympathy."

Both Renata and the Doctor smiled proudly at Gabby. They'd never seen her act so authoritative and much less that confident.

"Pyrovillia is cold case. Not relevant," one of the Judoon in the room replied.

"How do you mean, 'cold case'?" Gabby asked him.

"The planet Pyrovilia cannot be part of this, it disappeared over two-thousand years ago," the Shadow Architect said.

"Like I said, nobody batted an eye at it," Renata motioned the Doctor to scoot out of the computer's way. "I wonder how many other planets just 'disappeared' without anyone wondering why?"

"What are you doing?" the Doctor saw her switch tabs on the computer.

"Going through the planets that disappeared long ago - aha look!" she pointed suddenly. "Remember the Adipose and Miss Foster? She said their breeding planet had disappeared a long time ago!"

"Oh, brilliant! You're brilliant!" the Doctor started exclaiming once he understood the true gravity of the situation. "The planets have been taken out of time as well as space! Scoot!" He scooted her away just like she had done earlier. He re-organized the list of planets into a hologram set in the center of the room for the others to see. "There's something missing. Where else, where else, where else, lost, lost, lost, lost...? OH! The Lost Moon of Poosh!"

"The Lost Moon of what?" Gabby raised a finger and watched as a very small planet - a moon - appeared last in the string of hologram planets.

"This moon, lost ago, - Donna and I heard about it on Midnight," the Doctor said dismissively. He was arranging the planets in a specific way in the air.

"What? When you went to that luxury planet?"

"Yes, now shush!"

Gabby scrunched her face and glanced at Renata, wearing an expression akin to ' _we_ _should've gone_ '. Renata rolled her eyes but let it be. It wasn't her fault that neither of them got to visit the spa planet. That was the day she and Gabby had visited 52st century China in order to see a new art gallery that was having their grand opening. It had been loads of fun for Gabby to meet with current popular artists and see their creations.

But on the other hand, she and Renata had missed the whole ordeal on 'Midnight', the planet where the Doctor and Donna had nearly died. They'd found some strange alien that was so intelligent it almost managed to get the Doctor thrown out of their train by some scared, manipulated humans. Renata had been outraged to hear what happened to the Doctor and demanded that they all go to whoever was in charge of the spa to get it shut down.

"Well…" the Doctor's new arrangement of the planets was interrupted when the stolen planets literally re-arranged themselves into an optimum pattern. "Look at that. Twenty-seven planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous!"

"I'm getting tired of saying this, but...Doctor? Stolen planets!? Focus!?" Renata waved a hand at the holographic planets between them.

"Why'd the planets arrange themselves like that?" Gabby went around the hologram, eyeing each of the planets.

"Like pieces of an engine…" the Doctor mumbled in a half-thought. "It's like a power house. But what for?"

"Who could design such a thing?" The Shadow Architect breathed in awe and yet fear. Someone who could design a power tool like that was strong and fear-worthy.

"Wait…" Renata froze but she felt the wave of dreariness begin to wash over her. "It can't be...it can't be…"

"No, no…" the Doctor said rather fast but as he turned back for the computer, Renata swore she saw a look of panic flash across his face for a second.

"Ren?" Gabby feebly moved towards the Time Lady. "What's going to happen? Are-are we going to get them back?"

Renata had no idea what to say and it showed. Her eyes flickered to the Doctor and the Shadow Architect, both huddled by the computer again. None of them had the answers Gabby wanted to know and it killed Renata. "Why don't we go back to the TARDIS so I can get changed?"

Gabby knew the attempt of distraction and what it meant...and it scared her to pieces. Because if neither the Doctor nor Renata didn't know what was happening, then things were _truly_ bad. "I-I want to sit down." Her legs felt like puddy the more she thought of her family and what they must be going through.

"Okay, we can do that," Renata quickly ushered the girl towards a staircase and sat her down on the first step. "You sit here and I'll be back in a bit." She closed her robe tighter and hurried off.

Gabby exhaled heavily. She felt so useless just sitting there with nothing to offer to the table. Her world was gone! She had to do something but...what?

In her distant thinking, she didn't notice an Albino servant coming by with a glass of water. "You need sustenance. Take the water, it purifies."

"...thanks," Gabby whispered and took the glass.

"There's a fluttering around you."

Gabby looked up at the man questionably. "Excuse me?"

"The same fluttering that's around your friend - the Time Lady? Only she is golden, and you are lavender."

Gabby's eyes instinctively flickered to the Doctor as if by extension it was the same thing looking at Renata.

"You are each something new."

"I really doubt it," Gabby took a long drink of water.

"Such a nice group of travelers...I am sorry for your loss."

Gabby lowered her glass to her lap and studied the servant for a second. For a brief moment she thought he might be playing with her feelings but...he looked earnest enough. "Yeah, thanks, I guess. No real words to tell someone when their world is gone."

"No, I mean the loss that is yet to come. I'm very sorry for you all," the servant lowered himself just enough to whisper. "But the butterflies could perhaps save you."

"Excuse me?" Gabby blinked. The servant was grim as he went on his way.

A short moment later, Renata returned wearing much more appropriate clothing. A nice, white buttoned-up blouse tucked under camel-colored pants. She went with the camel-colored flats thinking there would be some running ahead.

"Have we learned anything new?" She went over to the Doctor by the computer, but judging by his lost face there was nothing.

"Gabby?" He called to the girl by the stairs who was still trying to process what the servant's words meant. "Just think for a minute, please? There must've been some sort of warning. Was there anything happening back in your day, like... electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky?"

"Other than the freaky stuff when I met you two?"

"She got you there," Renata whispered to the Doctor, something he was fast to wave her off for.

"Well, Donna did mention that she heard the bees were disappearing…"

"The bees disappearing," the Doctor sarcastically said, shaking his head. "The _bees_ disappearing."

"You don't need to be rude - _you_ asked _me_!" Gabby frowned.

"Oh...the bees disappearing!" The Doctor realized Gabby (and Donna) were very right in the matter and he was just about to brush it off. He returned to the computer with a new hope that, in turn, pulled Gabby and Renata.

"How is that significant?" The Shadow Architect studied each of the trio to understand what was so important about the insects she had only read about.

"Well, on Earth we have these insects - annoying but very useful - and according to our friend, Donna, a lot of them have been disappearing," Gabby explained.

"Or... they were going back home!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Gabby raised an eyebrow. "Back home? What do you mean…?"

"The planet Melissa Majoria."

"Bees are _aliens_!?"

Renata put a calming hand over Gabby's shoulder. "Your Earth is just full of surprises, isn't it?"

"You're telling me we have alien bees!?"

"Don't be so daft," the Doctor told her. "Not all of them. But, if the migrant bees felt something, some sort of danger, and escaped... Tandocca!"

"The Tandocca Scale," the Shadow Architect was beginning to understand by the looks of it.

And that's when the Doctor took off in a rambling speed that absolutely no creature should be able to master. "The Tandocca Scale is a series of wavelengths used as carrier signals by migrant bees. Infinitely small, no wonder we didn't see it. It's like looking for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara!"

Gabby's face was a mixture of bemusement and horror, so she glanced at Renata for a better version of that and some plain answers on how the Doctor could possibly do that.

"Centuries have passed and I still have no idea," Renata exhaleed tiredly. The Doctor seemed to know exactly what she was talking about because he rolled his eyes at her.

"Just look!" He grabbed both Renata and Gabby and brought them to the computer screen. "There it is! The Tandocca trail!" There was a trail of blue light almost glittering on the screen. "The transmat that moved that planets was using the same wavelength! We can follow the path!"

"And get to Earth!" Gabby excitedly jumped. "Well let's go!" Now she grabbed the Doctor and Renata and yanked them for the TARDIS. Earth was at the tip of their fingers!

The Doctor somehow got in the lead and went straight for the console's monitor to pull up what they were looking for. "We're a bit late. The signal's scattered, but it's a start!"

"Uh, Doctor?"

He stopped to see Renata was at the doorway, pointing outside. He hurried back to see the Judoon all gathered behind the Shadow Architect. "I've got a blip! It's just a blip, but it's definitely a blip!" He told them.

"Then according to the strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology," the Shadow Architect's words made him pause.

"Oh, really? What for?"

"The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Doctor! Right across the universe! And you will lead us into battle!"

The Doctor wanted to be surprised...but he just couldn't be. It was such a predictable thing the Shadow Proclamation would pull. It was why it was far more fun when he glanced at Renata with a smirk. For one moment, they weren't arguing at all. They were just themselves again. "You want to take that one?"

The Time Lady was not remotely amused with his smugness. _Of course_ he'd be smug. She was always on his case about never going to the Shadow Proclamation when things were bad, and much less let them handle things. Now that they were here, doing what she always said they should do, it turned out to be very bad.

"I…" she sighed, " _Dammit_." She had to admit defeat. "Let us go get you a key," she told the Shadow Architect with a polite smile then yanked the grinning Doctor behind her. He gladly let the doors close and immediately began to laugh as he trailed after her. "It's not funny!" She stalked over to the console. "I just _lied_ to the Shadow Proclamation!" For her, that was _blasphemy_!

"Yeah you did!"

Renata stopped once she was at the console and glared at the Doctor. "I just lied...to one of the biggest, most official, departments."

"I told you-"

"-shut up!"

Gabby secretly smiled on the side. If they were bickering, making fun of each other, then it meant they couldn't be angry with each other, right?

~ 0 ~

Donna didn't know what was worse: having the Daleks roaming their world and kidnapping humans or having to explain just how terribly dangerous they were to her mother and grandfather. Her mother was scared beyond belief but that didn't stop her from disbelieving every word Donna was saying.

"I'm telling you, Mum! They're aliens from-" Donna pointed a finger above her head, "-space! The Doctor and Renata told me all about them!"

Sylvia would shake her head and mumble that they were going crazy and that if she was going to die, she would have some tea in hand. Donna groaned and let her head fall to the kitchen table in a loud thud. Her forehead would definitely hurt later.

"You couldn't get ahold of them, sweetheart?" Wilf sat right beside her.

Donna raised her head only to shake it. "They must have blocked the phone signals or something. I don't know what else to do. Martha's not picking up either and she's the only other one I had around here…"

Something peculiar happened that froze everyone in their spots. A knock on the door. And then two. And then three.

"The...whatever they're called? Is that them?" Sylvia huddled by the sink, but Donna shook her head again.

"Daleks don't knock, mother."

"No, you stay here," Wilf told her once she started heading out of the kitchen. "There's a lot of crazies right now."

"Yes, but no crazy banging nor shouts," Donna pointed out. She had hope that maybe it was Martha coming to help or at the very least to keep each other company. But when she opened the door she found a blonde on the other side with a massive gun in hand.

She was no stranger.

"I met you," Donna blinked in realization. "In-in that...that parallel world thing the fortune teller put me in! But Martha said it was all gone-"

"Hi Donna, I'd love to talk but can we do that inside where there's no Daleks lurking?" Rose Tyler had a big smile on her face despite the chaos around them. Donna wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but she nodded and stepped aside. Rose was happy to come in and leave behind the darkness, at least for a moment.

"Hold on!" Donna went after her. "Parallel worlds - the Doctor told me about that! You're not supposed to be here!"

Rose removed the hangar from her gun and set it on the couch. "Well, I was trapped...and then...things happened…" It had taken a _lot_ for her to finally get to the right world and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way.

"You were in my world!" Donna reiterated in a frantic shout, almost begging Rose to agree so that Donna knew she wasn't crazy.

"I was," the blonde nodded her head. "I've been travelling from world to world, trying to find this Earth."

"But I don't...the Doctor said parallel worlds are sealed off. That's why…" Donna trailed off awkwardly. Reminding Rose of the terrible parting with the Doctor 2 years ago was probably something Rose didn't want to remember.

"Donna, who the hell is that?" Sylvia had come out of the kitchen with Wilf. The first thing Sylvia noticed was the massive gun on her couch.

"She's a friend of the Doctor's," Donna said with a light smile. Well, there was no Martha but they had Rose now. One for one.

"Rose Tyler," the blonde waved a nervous hand at them. Last thing she was thinking of was going through a proper greeting. Time was their only weapon, after all. "Donna, can you call the Doctor?"

"I've been trying but he's not picking up!"

That sentence alone seemed to rip through Rose. "What…?"

Donna sighed wearily. "I've been trying like mad but the signal doesn't go through. Wherever they are in space...it's not getting the signal."

"In _space_?" Sylvia repeated condescendingly.

"Oh mother, hush!" Donna unexpectedly snap. "It's all real, you know? Just take a look at the sky, for God's sake!"

The yelling between the two didn't seem to break through Rose. She dejectedly leaned against the couch as she processed that her only plan was on a halt. "You're my last hope. If we can't find the Doctor…"

There went the universe... _universes_.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS had gone through a series of violent jerks until it suddenly stopped and threw everyone to the ground.

"Are we here!?" Gabby peeled her face off the floor and quickly laid eyes on the door.

"It's...stopped…?" the Doctor sounded confused and if he was confused then things were bad again.

"N-n-n-n-no don't say it like that, please!"

Renata got up first then helped Gabby. She was thinking like the Doctor that they couldn't have stopped. He was already at the monitor to see exactly where they had stopped.

"The Medusa Cascade," he said quietly. "I came here when I was just a kid. Ninety years old. It was the center of a rift in time and space."

"So...are the twenty-seven planets here?" Gabby left Renata's hold to see the monitor for herself. The space was beautiful with colors of blue and yellow and red all swirled together...but she didn't see her home planet. "Where...where are they?" She looked to see the Doctor was once again wearing that expression she hardly saw, because he never showed it. Hopelessness.

"The Tandocca Trail stops dead," he stepped away from the monitor, perhaps to hide his hopelessness. "...end of the line."

Gabby watched him like he was crazy. She'd never heard him say something like that, much less appear like he _believed_ that. Her head turned to Renata in a snap to see what she would say.

She wasn't like the Doctor, but Renata had learned long ago how to hide her true feelings. Yet another gift from her family. Even if she was upset, if she was helpless, or hopeless, she should always wear a smile for everyone.

"We'll find it," Renata said. Her eyes blinked rapidly - she was thinking about Martha on Earth - and Gabby could hear the heavy inhales she was taking. "I don't know how but...we'll find it."

In any other situation, Gabby would've loved to point out how Renata and the Doctor had taken each other's roles. Renata, who was used to reality, was now daring to believe in the impossible like the Doctor and he was taking her perspective of reality to the last point. The irony.

~0~

Without Donna's working phone, Rose resorted to a computer. She didn't expect much from it but at the very least it could help with something.

"The thing is…" Donna was sitting right next to Rose in the kitchen, "In that parallel world...how did you know me?"

An amused smile spread across Rose's face while she went through the computer. "I told you that already: you're the most important woman in the universe."

"Oh come off it," Donna waved her off. "There were plenty of people connected to the Doctor after you. There was Martha-"

"Heard about her, lovely but she wasn't the one I needed."

"Alright, what about Gabby? She's young but she's definitely added something, right?"

"Gabby Gonzalez is not my domain persay."

"What do you mean?"

Rose visibly swallowed hard. "You have to remember, Donna, that I visited a lot of parallel worlds before coming to yours. I've seen versions of Gabby that...don't end so nicely."

Donna was quick to be horrified. "She dies?"

"No…" Rose tilted her head, wondering if this was even an appropriate conversation to have. With a sigh, she pulled her gaze from the screen to look at Donna. "There were a couple parallel worlds where something - I think a space art gallery of some sort - would contaminate Gabby and then she would end up as this…huge-" she made the gesture of something large with her hands, "-cosmic butterfly. And she wasn't a very nice cosmic butterfly."

"But that can't be. Our Gabby went to a space gallery too and-and nothing happened to her."

"Different world, different results. Maybe it just wasn't her."

Donna was sure the Doctor examined Gabby after Zhe's gallery, finding that Gabby was also exposed to the same toxins now hurting Renata. Maybe Gabby just wasn't hit with the same amount? Or because she's human? But then if it wasn't Gabby…

"Maybe it was someone else…" Donna whispered when it donned on her who'd been taking the worst hit from that space gallery. "Oh God, if it's Renata…"

Rose once again stopped on the computer and side-glanced Donna with a sharp look. "Renata? A Time Lady? Don't tell me you have one of her too." Donna met Rose's eyes, suddenly nervous when she remembered the whole ordeal between Renata and the Doctor. Rose presumed that was Donna's way of saying 'yes' and groaned. "Not her!"

"What? You know Renata?"

"Unfortunately. She's a Time Lady in the other worlds I crossed to but she was no help at all. She didn't care about the stars dying, nor that the Doctor didn't exist in her worlds or that he was dead."

"Well that can't be Renée," Donna used the Doctor's nickname for her as if she was trying to say that couldn't be his Renata. "You know, our Renata, she's very good at hiding her true feelings. I'm willing to bet that she was lying to you. She kind of does that." Rose didn't seem so sure. She went back to work instead, but Donna still had one more thing to say. "Our Renata here, _she_ was contaminated badly and she's been having health issues…the Doctor's told me that he thinks she might be regenerating soon, or at least her body will _try_ to." Donna remembered how terribly grim the Doctor was when he shared that detail with him. He was truly terrified of what could happen to Renata and there was nothing that he could do about it. Renata had been contaminated with something that nobody else had. And before the Doctor even knew who she was, he had already fallen for her. With all those feelings the situation had to be even more terrifying. Who'd want to lose someone they loved?

"Then I'm betting she's going to become the not-so-nice cosmic butterfly," Rose murmured, not particularly concerned for that bit.

Donna was worried, though, _very_ worried. Could this have been the prediction Gabby told her about? Is that how Renata was supposed to die? And was that _here_? At this moment? They _really_ needed to find the Doctor.

_'You will obey Dalek instructions without question. You will obey your Dalek ma-'_

Rose froze when the computer went pitch white. She blinked several times at it, wondering if they were about to catch a break.

_'Can anyone hear me? The subwave network is open, you should be able to hear my voice…'_

"Yes! Yes! I can hear you!" Rose was quick to say. Even Donna had leaned closer to see who was trying to talk to them. "

_"Is there anyone there?"_

Rose gasped. "I know that voice...!"

_"This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?"_

The screen cleared up a few seconds later and had Harriet Jones on the other end, flashing her ID at anyone who watched. "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister!"

"Harriet! It's me, it's me!" Rose soon realized that Harriet couldn't hear her at all. She looked at Donna who shook her head.

"It's my grandad's computer!"

"Have you got a webcam?".

"No," Wilf answered from the couch. "She-" he nodded at Sylvia beside him, "-won't let me. She said they're naughty."

Rose sighed and looked at the screen again. "Well, I can't speak to her then, can I?"

So close and so far.

~0~

Renata had opened the TARDIS doors to the empty Medusa Cascade. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but at least she was doing something. She extended her hand, focusing on that sneaky energy that had caught her off guard far too many times. Now it was her turn to control it and maybe, just maybe, it would do something good for them. There were quiet wisps of energy that would emanate from her fingertips, but nothing too significant.

"Don't hurt yourself," the Doctor came up behind her. "We still don't know what that energy can do to you."

"If it'll get us somewhere, then I don't care." She closed her eyes to try again, but this time the Doctor lowered her. With a sigh of annoyance, she opened her eyes and turned around. "Stop that. I need to try again."

"But what's the point?"

Renata simply couldn't believe that those words were actually coming out of his mouth. He even looked the part of someone with zero faith. "The point is that I'm trying to do _something_! Just like...just like _you_ would."

"Well who taught you that?"

Renata's expression went full-on incredulous. " _You_!" She frantically gestured to him. "In your annoying, talented way. It's the thing I've never been good at but you... you've always done that. I wish I could've been like that from the start."

The Doctor gave a light shake of his head. He moved around her to close the TARDIS doors. "Maybe you've been right this whole time. It's best to see reality." If he had seen reality before, way back on Gallifrey, then maybe he would've avoided all the pain he'd carried since then.

"Don't say that, please," Renata whispered. She felt terrible thinking that her words had finally cut through the Doctor. That's never what she wanted to do. "Because the day you start thinking like _me_...then it's really over."

_That's how badly she thinks of herself_ , the Doctor concluded. He wasn't that surprised, though. Zuriah usually wasn't very confident, even when she had the ability to make anyone smile. She was always so good at making everyone - _anyone_ \- feel welcomed, feel at _home_ and Renata was just as good. As soon as she was finally settled in her new traveling life with him, she made _him_ feel at home in his own TARDIS. She was a warm, kind woman…

He forgot how he used to feel around her.

* * *

_"Doctor, it's Zuriah. She's here. She's alive and she's here. The universe is giving you a second chance to be happy."_

_"She has a point," Donna's input made the Doctor turn his head at her. "You've told me how much it hurt to leave her behind, especially when...when your war was over. But she's alive."_

* * *

She was alive and yet he was still so scared of what would happen. He still felt the anger towards Renata even when he knew - when he _accepted_ \- that he was still in love with her, but maybe this is what Martha meant. There wasn't time to waste but it was difficult to move on right now. Maybe it was just 'right now'. He'd have to come back to that when all this mess was over...

"I know you must not value my words right now - or ever again - but I have to tell you how much you've...changed me." Renata stepped closer to him but was a bit afraid that he wouldn't want to be in such close proximity to her. "I never really got the jist of planet Earth and much less the humans...but you've changed that this past year. I finally get why you're always there to help them. They're amazing - albeit a little narcissistic sometimes - but they're people worth getting to know. And I thank you for that. Now I just want to help however I can and make that girl over there-" she nodded over to Gabby who was blankly staring at the ground, "-happy again. So, yes, my energy might not do a damn thing but I will keep trying even if it kills me."

It was impossible for the Doctor not to feel at least a little bit special. Time was, he always tries to show Zuriah the best of the world through his words. She would always question his obsession with the humans, commenting on how he should redirect that attention to their home instead. But here she was, thinking almost like him.

There came a beeping noise from the console, startling the trio inside. It was hard to tell what it was for a few seconds, until…

"PHONE!" Gabby actually fell out of the Captain's chair in her shock. The Doctor dashed for the console with Renata hot on his trail.

"That's Martha's phone! It's Martha's!" Renata was too excited when she saw the Doctor picking up the ringing phone.

"Martha, is that you?!" the Doctor called but there was nothing on the other end. He pulled the phone from his ear to see the screen. "It's a signal…"

"Can we follow it?" Gabby jumped back to her feet, albeit a little wobbly from her fall. "Like back to Earth?"

The Doctor had a stethoscope on the phone and the phone in front of the monitor, with no intention of letting the trace go. "Oh just watch me!" Renata beamed at him. He couldn't just give up - it wasn't him. "Got it! Locking on!" he cheered. He didn't warn the other two that the TARDIS was about to once again shake them - he just pulled the lever and started her up.

Renata shrieked at the sparks that flew from the console and nearly hit her face. Her arms flew over her face and in doing so, the TARDIS had an easier time throwing her back.

"Renata!" Gabby yelped from her spot.

"I'm fine, just keep going!"

But a moment later, the console went up in flames and forced Gabby to let go. She shrieked as well when she went down.

"Sorry! We're travelling through time! One second in the future!" the Doctor explained in a loud shout. "The phone call's pulling us through!"

"Just get us there!" Renata, again, yelled from the floor.

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" The Doctor yelled at the top of his lungs whilst the TARDIS shook like it never had before.

The TARDIS hurtled towards something new, exactly to where Earth and the other lost planets truly were. The fire, soon, started going out on its own.

Renata eventually climbed her way back up using the dry parts of the console for support. Her back ached and that warmth was coming back to her skin. "Please tell me we're here?"

The Doctor's grin was answer enough. He helped Gabby stand up while Renata hurriedly moved to the computer.

"The twenty-seven planets!" she beamed. "And there's the Earth, Gabby, very much present!"

"Let me see!" Gabby left the Doctor's hold to see for herself that the planets were all there. "But why couldn't we see it before?"

"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place, tiny little pocket of time. But we found them!" The Doctor had come to the monitor in time to see the screen blurring. "Oh, oh... what's that?"

"Someone's trying to reach us," Renata really hoped it was Martha and Donna. She needed to know they were okay.

"Some sort of... subwave network!" The Doctor anxiously waited for the screen to completely clear up. He did his best from his end to help the network come through, but it was mostly up to their luck.

Jack Harkness was the first to appear in a square of four, followed by Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones and then their own square.

"Martha!" Renata beamed at the sight of her best friend. Martha grinned in relief to see their network had finally reached them.

Jack Harkness laughed in the same relief but it was followed by an angry, "Where the hell have you been!?" It made the trio blink in collective surprise.

"Well, rude," Renata muttered but she couldn't stop smiling. They were alive right now and that's all she cared for. "Wait - who's that?" She pointed a finger at Sarah Jane.

"Oh, Sarah Jane!" The Doctor was the next to beam. "An old friend! Who's the boy?" He spotted the brunette teenager standing next to Sarah Jane.

"Is Donna around there?" Gabby squirmed her way in-between the Doctor and Renata, momentarily looking like their curious child trying to see what was going on.

"Donna!" Renata gasped. Her eyes laid on Martha but it was only her.

"She's at home, I'm assuming safe? All communication is down."

The trio's hearts stopped at the questionable fate of Donna.

"You picked up another one?" Jack raised an eyebrow at Gabby.

"She's mine," Renata answered with a proud smile, truly looking the part of a mother.

"I'm Gabby Gonzalez," Gabby gave a meek wave of her hand at the screen. "And I'm not a child, no matter how Renata makes it seem."

"Doctor, it's the Daleks!" Jack exclaimed.

"They're taking people to their spaceship!" Sarah Jane added and was followed by Martha's input.

"But it's not just Dalek Caan!"

~ 0 ~

In Donna's living room, there was an equal relief to see the Doctor and Renata on their computer screen, although Rose paid more attention to the former than the latter.

"They're alive," Donna was grinning from ear to ear. "And that means we can still win this!"

"Win what? The world's ending," Sylvia said from behind.

"Mum, not now!" Donna sighed as she watched everyone jabber along on the computer. They were unable to join.

"So you _do_ have the cosmic butterfly and the Time Lady?" Rose didn't seem too sure about them when she glanced at Donna.

"They're incredibly kind women, I swear," Donna assured her.

"She-" Rose tapped her finger over Renata, "-didn't care for humanity in your world. She was in hiding...and she knew the Doctor, but...she didn't care that he was dead."

"To be fair, that's also a version of Renata that never met the Doctor again so...she never got attached to any human like Martha...me...and Gabby," Donna said sadly. She wondered what that other version of Renata felt like being alone. She remembered how scary the Doctor had been the first time she met him. He had no control of himself, no care for his own life because he felt so utterly alone. She presumed the other Renata had to been similar.

"And she-" Rose moved her finger to Gabby, "-can be very dangerous. She was a fixed point in time in a lot of the other worlds. She was dangerous, Donna, I swear."

"I believe you," Donna promised. Rose looked very sincere in her worries and Donna couldn't just wash them away when Rose had seen things with her own eyes. "But please trust _me_ when I tell you that these versions are not who you think they are. They're here to help."

Rose bit her lower lip and turned her gaze back to the computer. All this time she hadn't felt her stomach churn the way it was right now - despite the Dalek situation and the universes crashing - but now looking at Renata and Gabby made things feel a lot worse. It scared her even more.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was fondly watching all of his previous companions jabber over one another, trying to explain the situation. He had no idea what they were saying but he didn't care. He was so happy to see all of them. "Look at you all, you clever people!"

"These are all previous companions?" Gabby asked him with a growing smile on her face. People just like her who would understand all of her stories!?

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "That's Captain Jack-" and just before the man in question was about to open his mouth, the Doctor pointed a warning finger at him, "Don't you dare!" Gabby blinked but smiled at the brunette man on the screen. He was kind of cute. "That's Sarah Jane - we go way back."

"Centuries," Sarah Jane agreed. "Now I must ask who is that?" She was talking about Renata who'd been pretty quiet but nonetheless looking just as happy as everyone else.

"Renata," the woman answered. "Nice to meet you...even though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"This is like an outer-space Facebook!" Gabby laughed once she realized the comparison. "Can we make this a daily thing? You know, when the world isn't ending."

"Oh Gabby," Renata laughed and side hugged her.

"Everyone except Rose," the Doctor distantly commented after a moment.

~ 0 ~

"I'm here, Doctor. I'm here," Rose whispered with an urgency that Donna could practically see radiating from her.

~ 0 ~

The screen in the TARDIS turned into white noise all of a sudden.

"No, no get them back!" Gabby frantically said, even banging the side of the monitor to get ahead of the Doctor.

"There's another signal coming through, there's someone else out there!" The Doctor did indeed follow Gabby's plan and banged the other side of the monitor.

"Would you two stop banging the monitor!?" Renata yanked their two hands off the poor screen. "Maybe it's Donna."

But the voice that followed was definitely not Donna. It was a raspy, almost ugly, voice that froze the two Time Lords in their places. "Your voice is different, and yet, its arrogance is unchanged."

Gabby wasn't sure who it was but judging by the looks on the pair's faces, she knew it could not be good.

"No, but he's dead…" Sarah Jane was the only companion who seemed to share the Time Lord's horror.

"Welcome to my new empire, Doctor," Davros - creator of the Daleks - emerged from the darkness to reveal a rather unappealing appearance.

"Ugh…" Gabby found herself retracting a few steps, repulsed at the terrible creature on the screen.

"I've never actually seen him…" Renata sucked in a breath of terror. Flashes of the war came back to her mind suddenly.

"It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, Lord and Creator of the Dalek Race," Davros said, but the Doctor only stared in silence. "Have you nothing to say?"

Gabby took the Doctor's silence as a very good reason to be afraid. "We're-we're in the TARDIS. We're...we're supposed to be safe, right?"

"But you were destroyed," the Doctor finally found some words to say. "In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysiem. I saw your command ship flying into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you…"

Renata's double-take on him nearly hurt her neck from how fast she'd done it. "You did _what_?" Never in her lives would she ever try to save someone like Davros...but of course the Doctor would.

"It took one stronger than you," Davros told him. "Dalek Caan himself."

The Dalek himself flashed in the background, singing his words with an insane undertone. "I flew into the wild and fire. I danced and died a thousand times!"

"Emergency temporal shift took him back into the Time War itself," Davros further explained, or explained better since the other Dalek was deliriously laughing.

"But the entire War is time locked!" Renata, outraged, yelled. How could a creature like that be able to penetrate the most sealed event in history?

"And yet, he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine - a single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"

"And you made a new race of Daleks," the Doctor could only assume.

"I gave myself to them. Quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body." Davros revealed his rotten form underneath his suit. His ribs and heart were almost entirely visible. "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now?"

The Doctor was still pretty shaken from the fact that Davros was _there_ so Renata felt like it was appropriate to answer for him. "I am Renata and _you_ ruined our world! So the only thing we're going to do is say _goodbye_ you horrible, ugly monster!" She reached for the lever across and yanked it down with all her might, sending both the Doctor and Gabby to the floor.

The TARDIS began its descent towards Earth, never the smooth ride.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ah, so it's all coming now. Donna still went through the paralell world but now she's back on Earth helping Rose out where she can. And Rose started foreshadowing what could/might happen to Renata...or Gabby...or Renata...

And guys...they finally went to the Shadow Proclamation! But poor Renata, in her _nightie_ , and it all blew up in her face. They were NOT helpful at all and the Doctor finally got to show it. This moment will come up later on too xD.

Can you guys believe that there's only like 6 chapters left in this story (if I don't decide to split up a few chapters). I'm so excited for the next story that I thought I'd leave behind another snippet of it. Actually, this is quite literally the beginning of the next story if anyone's curious!

**P. S** : As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	26. The Cosmic Butterfly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth behind the Cosmic Butterfly comes to light and reveals that it's not the only creature created!

Since everyone was set to go find the Doctor, Rose thought it was high time she did the same. She closed the laptop and got up from her chair. She made a quick call to someone on her phone then turned to Donna and her family. "Right! I'm gonna find him."

"No, _we're_ going to find them," Donna corrected her. "I'm coming with!"

"Donna…" Rose began to shake her head but Donna grabbed onto her arm.

"I'm coming with, blondie! Those are my friends out there too!"

"Donna, you can't go out there," Sylvia got up from the couch, along with Wilf.

"I have to, Mum!"

"You go, sweetheart," Wilf told Donna, just like before when she was leaving after the Sonatarans. "You go and find them."

Donna smiled softly at her grandfather. She directed her eyes to Rose, leaving no room for further discussion on the matter. The two then disappeared in a flash of blue light.

~ 0 ~

Gabby whimpered when the TARDIS finally stopped. There would definitely be bruises around her body later on, _if_ there even would be a 'later on'. With a groan, she used her elbows to sit up. "I'm getting really tired of landing like this."

Renata was the only one who had maintained her balance because she'd been the pilot this time. She sent an apologetic look at Gabby and the Doctor. "Sorry, I-I couldn't help myself. That was...that was _Davros_!"

"He's supposed to be dead…" the Doctor slowly pulled himself up to his feet, still shaken from seeing Davros again.

"I can't believe you actually tried saving him back in the war!?" Renata was still incredulous about the revelation. He actually went and tried saving Davros, of all people! She was naturally furious. "He should've died instead of everyone else! You shouldn't have ever tried to save him! That's stupid, even for you!"

The Doctor kept quiet on that bit. She had every right to be angry about that part but he was well aware that even now, seeing everything that had happened, he still didn't regret it.

Renata saw that clearly. She was not surprised. It was just so _him_. He was always the better one between them. "We're on Earth now, so let's just save it before Davros ruins it. Gabriella?"

"I'm up! I'm up!" the girl assured. "But please, someone, learn how to drive this box a little better!"

"C'mon!" Renata made the gesture for them to follow her, but the Doctor yanked her back by the sleeve of her blouse.

"What happened to 'check the environment'?" He threw her a look. She _always_ reminded him of that, not that he listened to it but that was beside the point. 

"Well, we're on Earth--" she pulled her arm out of his hold, "--and the Daleks have already invaded so safety is pretty much nonexistent. Now c'mon! We've got to find the others."

The trio emerged from the blue box into a solitary street. Gabby felt chills the way the street was upturned. There were cars parked haphazardly on the road, some actually overturned. Scattered rubbish filled their immediate area, but the worst part of it was the silence.

"Absolute silence," Renata whispered. She folded her arms tightly, feeling an unwavering breeze. She hated silence...it was like death.

"Sarah Jane said that they were taking the people. But what for?" The Doctor wished he could just skip the whole 'trying to figure things out' and go straight for the solution because if this is what _one_ street looked like, he didn't want to see what the city was like right now.

"Daleks taking humans?" Renata moved around him, her hands rising as she explained what she thought was so obvious. "It's to hurt them, to kill them. Daleks don't just meddle with humans for fun. They want to kill them."

"Yes but what _for_?" The Doctor turned to face her. "The Daleks don't just pull planets and submerge them into darkness!"

"They're Daleks!" She exclaimed in his face. "They don't need a reason. We just need to stop them."

Neither of them noticed Gabby's terrified expression due to their thoughts. It was all so normal to them…

The Doctor could concede on Renata's point. "Well, it would be a lot easier if we had everyone with us."

Renata had lifted her shoulders to shrug when she caught something over his shoulder. She shuddered in a breath so faintly that no one caught it. "I think you've overlooked one good thing that came out of this, Doctor," her voice was unexpectedly soft that for a moment, the Doctor wondered if her health was taking a plunge again.

"Yeah, and what would that be?"

An honest, albeit small, smile came to Renata's face. "You'd get the chance to see an old friend." She raised a shaky finger to point at someone behind him.

The Doctor didn't comprehend what she meant but when he turned around to see what she was pointing at, he forgot all about it. It was _Rose_. Rose Tyler. She stood at the end of the street wearing the biggest smile anyone could ever have. _Rose_.

Donna had a good sense to move away from Rose and settle her gaze on the Time Lady pulling herself to the TARDIS instead. Donna couldn't even begin to understand how Renata must be feeling. She didn't appear mad, or even jealous, just really sad…

Rose took off, leaving a strong trail of wind behind her. Donna's hair even flipped over her shoulders! But Rose didn't care - she had the Doctor just feet away from her. The Doctor took off in the same force.

"I don't understand who's that," Gabby inched closer to Renata. She noticed the expression on Renata's face and wondered why the Time Lady was so sad.

Renata was about to shake her head and simply go back into the TARDIS, hoping that maybe being on Earth would allow them to search better, when she spotted something rolling in the street adjacent to theirs. Her blood went cold.

"Exterminate!"

"NOOO!" Renata screamed when the Dalek fired and shot the Doctor.

Rose skidded to a forced stop when the blinding blue light passed in front of her. By the time she opened her eyes, the Doctor was already on the ground. She dropped to his side and cradled his head while he convulsed in pain.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Renata's voice, though still a scream, cracked in the end with her emotions. She ran _towards_ the Dalek, ignoring Gabby's and Donna's collective yells for her to stop. Renata couldn't hear anything but a ringing in her ears and a rush of adrenaline under her skin.

Jack appeared only a few feet from Rose and the Doctor and, taking in the situation, he prepared to fire with his own huge gun...only to see Renata halfway there. "Renata, what are you doing!?"

"Exterminate!" went the Dalek again, shooting straight for the Time Lady.

Renata's face was ferocious and perhaps the new unlocked feeling was what brought out the energy that'd been swirling inside her, bubbling like a soup that wasn't quite ready. It exploded around into a radiating light - more powerful and blinding than the Dalek's laser - and blasted the Dalek into pieces.

"Ren!" Gabby called in terrible fear. When the golden energy died, it left Renata wobbly and in a few seconds she fell to her knees. Gabby ran for her, but Donna and Jack got to Renata first.

Renata's face was pale and her cheeks seemed a bit hollow. "I-I don't know...I don't know where that came from...I dooooon…" her words slurred together until she couldn't form a proper word anymore.

"C'mon, up you go!" Jack pulled her up to her feet but had to do most of the supporting. "Don't tell me you're going to regenerate too…"

"Regen...regenerate!" Renata sniffed in and looked both ways before finding the Doctor on the ground. "N-no! Get...get hiiii...him!" She tried pushing Jack away but her arms actually felt like noodles. She'd heard Gabby use the expression once on herself after being unable to play volleyball at a space beach they visited. Noodle arms, how Renata had laughed at that.

Now she fully understood.

"Don't die. Oh my God, please don't die," Rose was teary-eyed and didn't really know what else to do except hold the Doctor.

"We need to get him to the TARDIS!" Jack called. "Now!"

Donna knew where she could better put her efforts into. She rushed to help Rose pick the Doctor up to his feet. "C'mon, spaceman, we gotta go."

"Renée" the Doctor hadn't seen much but he knew that Renata had expelled a lot of the energy they'd been watching. It was exactly what he'd been afraid of, that one day she would do something her body wasn't ready for and would pay the price with her life.

The group got back into the TARDIS and while Gabby and Jack tried to bring Renata to the Captain's chair, Renata shook her head and clung to the console instead. Her legs were buckling though and she kept breathing in as if she was holding her breath.

"Renata, are you going to regenerate?" Jack had to be straightforwards and ask her so that she wasn't so close to the Doctor who would definitely be doing the thing.

"N-noooo…" Renata lost breath in that one word. She swallowed hard and took in another deep breath. "Jusssst….just too...lots of ener…" For now, her body was just growing tired.

"Lots of energy, got it," Jack backtracked from her cautiously, though pointed Gabby to keep an eye on her. "Doc! How we doing!?"

The Doctor's answer came in a groan. He was laying on the floor, convulsing and feeling more layers of pain. He knew what was coming, but he didn't want it. He really didn't want it.

"Got it. Rose, get back!"

Rose wouldn't budge. She shook her head - how could she leave him again?

"Rose!" Jack's voice hardened with urgency. "You know what happens next! We can't be near him! Donna?"

Donna looked between Jack and Renata, the latter already teary-eyed but stuck in her spot. She sighed and looked down at the Doctor. "You got this, spaceman. Good luck." She offered him her best, encouraging smile then scrambled up to her feet to join Renata and Gabby.

"ROSE!"

Rose sniffed and briefly glanced at the frantic Jack. "But he can't... not now, I came all this way…"

The Doctor turned halfway to the side and raised his hand. It was beginning to glow orange. "It's starting…" The orange light spread to his body in a few seconds.

"Doctor, I'm so...sor...sorry," Renata tried to get close to him by using the console as a support but nearly slipped on one occasion. Despite his pain, he still found a moment to shoot her a soft smile, as if telling her that things would be okay.

She couldn't return the favor. All she knew was that he was about to die and they had resolved nothing. And what was worst, she couldn't even be near him.

"Okay, Rose, dammit!" Jack had enough and went ahead to grab Rose himself and pry her away from the Doctor. "Here we go! Good luck, Doctor!"

"Ren, c'mon," Gabby gently pulled Renata farther from the Doctor as well. Donna came to their side and keep Renata steady.

The Doctor managed to pull himself up on his own but had to use the console as support for a moment. He wanted to say something, to look at his friends, look at…

"I'm sorry, it's too late. I'm regenerating," he felt the energy take him over, forcing his head backwards and his arms to his sides. His explosion of regeneration energy blinded the entire group.

Renata could hear the stream of energy but it all seemed to fade to be replaced by a fluttering noise, like wings. In her distraction she almost missed when the Doctor suddenly redirected his regenerative energy into the jar under the console where his severed hand was. And just like that, he stumbled out of the chaos with his same face.

"Now then…" he took in a deep breath and turned to the stunned group watching his every movement. "Where were we?" his grin wasn't enough to pull the group from their trance.

"H-how…?" Renata was the first one to speak, but in doing so she reminded the Doctor that while he had moved on she was still fighting for her life.

"Renée!" His fond nickname of hers just slipped through his lips. He rushed towards her, arms enveloping around her to keep her steady. "I told you not to use that energy!"

"How the...you jusssst….you…" Renata desperately tried to gesture the fact he'd completely cheated the regeneration system. "You break... _every_ ruuuule known to...known to ma…"

"I get the jist, now please take a seat," the Doctor brought her to the Captain's chair and was mindful of her (still) wobbly legs.

Rose watched the gentle movements between the two and couldn't, for the life of her, figure out how this version of Renata could actually travel with the Doctor. Could she truly be _that_ kind like Donna had promised? Well she did destroy a Dalek, the Dalek that nearly killed the Doctor. That did count for something.

"What was that energy?" Jack had to ask because it definitely had not looked like regeneration energy.

Renata blinked slowly, languidly, and turned her head at Jack. "Do you...do you hear a-a flut-fluterring? I hear fluttering…"

Gabby said nothing but her eyes had darted around the room when she thought she heard a faint snippet of that fluttering. That had to be wrong. 

"It's an illness and what Renata just did made it worse," the Doctor shook his head as he straightened up. "It's - well, I don't really know what type of energy it is but it's contaminating her the more she uses it. And she just blew the bloody top off a Dalek for my sake!"

"Yeah, but that Dalek nearly killed you," Rose said, speaking for the first time since their almost reunification outside. "Counts, doesn't it?"

He looked at her not with the same fondness from before, but a more earnest, unhesitating expression. " _No_."

She blinked in surprise. How could he say that? It was his life on the line!

"Renata could die because of this. I would rather die before she dies for me." His words continued to strike her with shock...and perhaps with a bit of a heartbreak. The way he said it, like he regarded Renata as someone important, maybe more important than a regular companion.

"How-how can we help her?" Jack quickly put himself upfront to do whatever was needed.

"You can start…" Renata began, trying to force herself to stand, "By acting…" her breathing was still short and heavy, "...like I'm stilllll...here. You--" she pointed a finger at the Doctor, "--just wasted...one whole regen...regeneration!"

The Doctor winced. "Yes, but...I have a good reason." Renata raised an eyebrow, asking what he could possibly think was a good enough reason to waste an entire life. "I…" he straightened his tie and grinned, "...quite like my face. Look at me, why would I to change?"

Renata's two hands shook as she rose them just a bit, her fingers curling to air-strangle him. "I...you...you wasted…" she took in another breath, "...whole life for...for…"

"It's best not to even bark up that tree, Ren," Donna couldn't help her smile of amusement. "He's too self-centered."

"Oi," the Doctor straightened himself. "Now you, Renée, sit down!"

"Your hand!" The Time Lady gestured at the severed hand now glowing and bubbling like crazy. "Whole life wasted!"

"But worth it," the Doctor continued to grin. "Lucky for me that my hand was here to send off all that excess energy to, huh?"

Renata's laugh was a small one, but she knew that there was no convincing him that he'd made a wrong choice. On some part, she was a bit jealous of him. He truly loved his life that much. He must be truly happy where he is. She couldn't remember ever living a previous life with that type of feeling.

"So...you're still you, then?" Rose's soft question turned the Doctor towards her. "You're not...you're not going to change?"

"Uh, no...hopefully not," the Doctor smiled at her. "I'm still me."

Rose's face broke into a smile. She hurried up to him for a big hug. He gladly accepted it and took just one brief moment to really process the fact she'd been able to come back.

"You can hug me if you want," Donna bobbed her head at Jack. Gabby's face was comical as she left to be by Renata instead. Jack just laughed, but Donna was in no joking mood. "No, really, you can hug me."

"Can I hug you?" Gabby asked Renata since that was the vibe of the room. Renata chuckled lightly. Gabby turned her head for a moment, eyes lingering on the severed hand. She watched it glow and bubble, the bubbles going big at one point and then so small in the next…

"Gabriella?" Renata noticed the girl had slipped off into a trance.

Gabby blinked away from the jar and seemed confused as she smiled. "Sorry...I thought I just heard…"

Renata watched the girl sort her thoughts with struggle. Rose overheard and when she pulled away from the Doctor, her concerned - yet fearful - expression was not missed by Renata.

"Never mind," Gabby smiled it away, waving her hands that it wasn't important.

Still, Rose didn't look so happy. Renata made her way to the blonde human, more steady now but still having to use the console for support. She ignored the Doctor's plead to get back in her seat.

"Is there...something you knoow...about this?" She asked Rose.

Rose flipped her head in Renata's direction, giving her a quick scan before shaking her head. "No."

Renata raised an eyebrow. "I know we...haven't met...but I'm not an idiot. What do you know?"

Rose kept her mouth shut but she now had the Doctor giving her more or less the same look as Renata. "I don't...why are you looking at me like that?" She frowned at him. All of sudden he was following the Time Lady?

"Because if you know something about Gabby, I'd really appreciate if you told us. I don't feel like losing anyone else."

"I don't know," huffed Rose. "I just met versions of her that...that don't end so nicely, okay? And it starts with fluttering noises." She laid eyes on Renata, almost accusing the woman of something terrible she was yet to do.

Renata knew when she was being accused - previous lifetime gifts - and sighed. "So maybe I'm going to die. That's what the Ood said."

"No, absolutely not!" The Doctor snapped. He wasn't going to let that happen no matter what creature predicted it.

Renata closed her eyes for a brief moment before sighing again. Truthfully, she was too tired right now to argue about it so she just kept going. "He also mentioned something about butterflies, apart from the contamination."

"The Cosmic Butterfly?" Rose asked in a whisper, eyes already glinting with fear.

Renata recognized the look all too well. "You knew about this?"

Rose didn't like much the tone the Doctor was using on her, as if she was at fault for whatever was happening to Renata. "In another world that I crossed! It's those cosmic butterflies!" She turned to the Doctor, almost as if Renata had ceased to exist in that moment. "If she's been contaminated then there's nothing to do. She'll become dangerous, Doctor. She could hurt you!" 

"Already done that without wings, I'm afraid," Renata whispered and turned away.

"No, Renée…" the Doctor tried going after her, an action that left Rose a bit shaken, when the TARDIS' power went were left in darkness.

"What's happened?" Gabby fearfully looked around the place.

"Ah, they've got us!" the Doctor turned to the console but saw little to do when everything was out. "Power's gone... some kind of chronon loop!"

The TARDIS gave another jolt, this time pushing everyone to one side.

"Where are they taking us!?" Donna shrieked after yet another tumultuous shake.

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the center of the planets. They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination," Jack explained. He shot Renata a concerned glance. The Crucible was not the place that would help her health at the moment.

"So these Daleks are at the center of the planets?" Gabby asked slowly to make sure she understood so far. She was choosing to ignore the constant stare from Rose who couldn't look more afraid of her too. It reminded her of the way River Song would look at her in the Library. What could she possibly do to either women - who both seemed more than capable of taking care of themselves - that could earn their fear? "And you said that these planets were like an engine," she turned to the Doctor. "But what for?"

The Doctor wished he had the answer but since Rose was now there, maybe she had it. "Rose! You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe - you've seen the future, what was it?"

Rose went grim. "It's the darkness."

"The stars were going out," Donna added and, realizing that none of them knew about her whole parallel world trip with Rose, she explained better. "I got a parallel universe created around me by some alien fortune teller at UNIT. Remember when you left me?" The Doctor winced at her sharpness and even more so at her glare. "Rose went to that world. It was terrible. You were dead and that caused this whole reaction chain. But I remember the stars were going out."

"One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying," Rose said distantly. It was such a scary thing to watch in person, feeling that with each star that disappeared they were all one star closer to death. But then she gazed at the Doctor and the feeling went away, because she was there with him and he always knew how to save things. "So basically, we've been building this um... this travel machine, this... uh... Dimension Cannon, so I could... well, so I could…so I could come back! Anyway, suddenly, it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse."

"And did you ever think that maybe it was the that device you built?" Renata didn't mean for her question to be an accusation. She thought it was a fairly logical thought if that was the real story.

Rose felt the accusation, though, and got defensive. "I didn't mean for that to happen!"

"Of course not," Renata's honest agreement made Rose pause for a moment. She studied the Time Lady for any clue of what game she was playing. "No human could know that. Parallel worlds are supposed to be sealed because of...well, what happened to our world, but you didn't know that. But let's think about it that way and see if we can build a solution from that, shall we?"

Rose's suspicion didn't fade completely, but she would go along if it meant putting a stop to the Daleks. "Right. Well, it wasn't just in our world - not just in yours either - but the whole of reality, even the Void was dead. Something is... destroying everything."

"In that parallel world...you said something about me," Donna said as the parts of that trip came back to her for a minute.

Rose nodded. "The Dimension Cannon could measure timelines, and it's... it's weird, Donna, but they all seem to converge on you."

Donna didn't know to laugh at that due to the situation. "But why me? I mean... what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!"

The monitor came back to life with the location of where they were arriving at. The Doctor hurried over to see it first. "The Dalek Crucible. All aboard…"

Of course, they landed with a crash.

"Doctor! You will step forth or die!" they began to hear the Daleks on the other side.

The Doctor turned to face the doors, taking a few steps towards it. "We'll... we'll have to go out," he realized. "If we don't, they'll get in."

"You told me nothing could get through those doors!" Rose accused.

"He lies," Renata said just as Gabby was about to say the same as Rose. And like Rose, Gabby seemed like she was betrayed. "Sorry ladies... that's...how he operates when he wants to keep you safe and happy." As if agreeing with her, the Doctor looked over his shoulder at her with a smirk. She did know him very well and that was something neither of them could deny.

"You've got extrapolator shielding," Jack thought a second later.

The Doctor turned around completely to give them the news of how it was, even if it was pretty grim. "Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids and mad. But this is a fully fledged Dalek Empire... at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything." That was enough to solidify their situation. "Right now, that wooden door...is just wood."

Donna had listened to the first part but as the Doctor had gone off, a different noise started taking over her attention. It wasn't like a flutter, no matter what Gabby and Renata said, but more like a heartbeat. She just couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"Okay, what about your Dimension Jump?" Jack asked Rose, not quite ready to give up completely.

"It needs another twenty minutes, and anyway, I'm not leaving."

The Doctor, following Jack's footsteps in believing in one last shot, asked the immortal man, "What about your teleport?"

"Went down with the power-loss."

"Okay," Renata rubbed circles against her temples. "So we don't have much of an option then. There's no way out so we might as well go out there and see what they want, right?"

"Right," the Doctor gave a firm nod of his head, though he might have been just as scared as anyone else right now. He'd never been this outmatched and the fact he had too many people be cared about with him made it all the more worse. Dying on his own was okay but dying with his friends - their much shorter lifespans - was not what he wanted to see. "All of us together... yeah."

"What are they going to do to us?" Gabby's question was a faint whisper. Renata saw the terrified girl and moved on over to give her a side hug. Her feet seemed to have reclaimed their balance and her cheeks were halfway to looking normal again. But once Gabby felt Renata's touch, she once again knew that the warmth was back and stronger than ever.

"Donna?" the Doctor called once he noticed the ginger had been staring into space. He presumed it was the crippling fear. Like Renata had done with Gabby, the Doctor went for Donna. Soon as he touched her, she snapped out of her trance. "I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do."

"No, I know," she gave a quick nod.

"Ren, you're really warm again," Gabby said quietly but the others still overheard.

Renata tried playing it off with a small laugh. "I just expelled unknown, possibly toxic, energy. Minor side effect but I'm fine."

The Doctor watched her carefully, knowing she was lying. She did it so easily, so casually, that he wondered when was the last time she didn't have to hide something about herself? When was the last time she had the luxury to be who she was, to always say how she felt? He never thought about that. So far he'd been very focused on his anger for what she didn't tell him. He never stopped to think about the reasons she was accustomed to being so reclusive. The Assessor blackmailing her, threatening her, to choose their family. Her own family planting values that contradicted her hearts. She grew up that way. She never had a choice.

"I'm fine, Doctor, really," Renata presumed his long, silent stare was just concern.

"There's a fluttering noise…" Gabby trailed off beside her, eyes keen on finding out where the fluttering was coming from.

"Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters!" the Daleks commanded from the other side.

"Daleks," Rose had no idea how to feel about that so she just laughed nervously. "Ha!"

Jack sucked in a breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever was coming next. "Oh, God!" The one thing they could both agree on, however, was that somehow the Doctor would pull it off. He could save them and everyone.

Their unwavered confidence in the Doctor pulled a tiny smile from him. He gazed at everyone in the room. "It's been good, though, hasn't it? All of us... all of it... everything we did…" he specifically looked at Renata for the last part. It was surprising, considering their pending fallout, but he needed her to know that no matter what he never regretted meeting her again.

"It has," she agreed after a long minute of silence. Her only regret was her past choices, but never meeting him at all. "I'm just sorry that I wasn't the best I could be."

Rose's eyes flickered between the pair with a questionable look. There was a twist in her stomach, warning her that she was missing out on something big.

The Doctor took the lead towards the door, albeit a bit slower than usual. He carefully opened the door and slid out.

"Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!" the Supreme Dalek began the chant as soon as they spotted the Doctor.

Most of the group was out to see themselves at the center of an entire Dalek emporium, all of them collectively chanting their favorite phrase. "Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks! Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!"

Renata felt like the air in her lungs had vanished. The last time she'd been surrounded by these many Daleks was the Time War, and that was too painful - too traumatizing - to bring back at a time like this. Her legs buckled again, making her bump into Jack's back. "S-sorry," she quickly said.

"What is going on with you, Ren? Apart from the obvious," Jack came to her aid and put one arm around her shoulders to help her walk. She was _hot_ , literally. Her skin might as well be boiling.

The Doctor happened to look back and saw Renata struggling again. Plus, neither Gabby nor Donna had come out of the TARDIS yet. "Gabby? Donna?" he called to them. "It's no safer in there…"

Gabby was on her way out but she noticed Donna was staring at something, perhaps something no one else saw. "Donna? C'mon," she gently called to the woman.

Donna seemed to blink out of another trance. Like the fluttering, the heartbeats wouldn't stop. "Right…"

Gabby nodded and turned to leave, when the doors literally shut in her face. It actually hurt her nose a bit. Her brow furrowed in confusion and, frankly, a bit of anger. "HEY!" Donna rushed over to her side to bang on the door as well. They were _not_ going to stay inside. If they were going to die then they wanted to do it with their friends.

"Doctor!" Donna roared with each bang she hit the door with.

The Doctor had already ran to the TARDIS to pry the doors open. Renata attempted to do the same but nearly fell from weakness if Jack hadn't tightened his hold around her.

"What's happened!?" Renata cried as she watched the Doctor pull the doors in vain. Gabby and Donna were collectively shouting to be freed, even accusing the Doctor of locking them away, but of course he hadn't done it.

"What did you do!?" the Doctor furiously turned to the Supreme Dalek.

"This is not of Dalek origin."

"Of course it's you!" Renata exclaimed. "Now open the doors!"

The Doctor didn't believe a word either. "Stop it! They're my friends. Now, open the door and let them out!"

"This is Time Lord treachery!" the Supreme declared, bringing the Doctor to a momentary pause.

_"Me!?"_ he repeated, frankly incredulous. They didn't have an actual body but they had a stupid eye stalk to _see._ "The door just closed on its own!"

"Nevertheless: the TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed." As soon as the Supreme Dalek declared it, a trapdoor opened up underneath the TARDIS and swallowed it whole.

Gabby and Donna both fell backwards on the floor with the harsh drop.

"NOOO!" Renata screamed just like before when the Doctor had been struck by a Dalek. She frantically pushed Jack away and tried running, only to fall with her wobbly legs. Golden energy sprang from her body, though, and hit the spot where the TARDIS had just been.

"Detain the Time Lady," the Supreme Dalek ordered.

"Stay back tin-boys," Jack aimed his gun at them. It might not do much but he wasn't going to let more people get taken.

"Now stop it!" the Doctor was enraged as he turned towards the nearing Daleks. He ran to Renata to help her stand but hissed when his hands touched her body. "You stay the hell away from her! And bring my friends back! Where are you taking them!?"

"The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino Energy. The TARDIS will be deposited into the core."

Renata was lucid enough to understand the implication. She used the Doctor as a pillar to stand again and glared at the Supreme Dalek. "You've taken...the defeeeence...down!" She breathed hard but it would not stop her from attacking if she needed to. "You'll killll...them!"

~ 0 ~

Inside the TARDIS, Gabby and Donna cried for dear life. The fall - wherever they were heading - was picking up speed the longer they took. They each held to a rail and watched as the console lights spark and shoot fires as if they were cooking.

And maybe they were…

Gabby gripped her railing as hard as she could, bringing a white shade to her skin in the process, but if she was paying attention to her fingers she would see a light lavender glow. But she was too scared to do anything but scream and cry, and think about the fact she was going to die.

"The jar!" Donna was the first to see the jar with the Doctor's severed hand glowing like mad. It almost looked like it would finally tip over from all the shakes.

"Donna, don't!" Gabby reached for the ginger when she attempted to get to the console.

Donna had heard the heartbeat again and this time she was sure that it was coming from the console. She needed to know what it was. So, however way she could, she wobbled towards the console.

"Donna!" Gabby shrieked when one particular spark billowed a gray smoke over them. She let go of the rail and nearly fell over the other one. Her best bet was following Donna and be near the Captain's chair.

The two made it just before the TARDIS threw them flat on their stomachs.

Donna shook her head then raised it. Her eyes locked on the jar with a new sense of determination. It was calling to her, in heartbeats. She felt like she couldn't turn away anymore. It needed her.

"Am I crazy…" Gabby was squinting from the smoke, "...or do I hear fluttering -- Donna!" She'd caught Donna's arm just as the ginger had reached for the jar. As soon as Donna touched it, the regeneration energy in the jar wrapped around them until the entire jar shattered. 

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS appeared on a screen for the group to see. It was being submerged into an oozy energy.

"The females and the TARDIS will perish together! Observe," the Supreme Dalek said. "The last children of Gallifrey is powerless."

Renata was destroyed - more than that but she wouldn't be able to describe it if anyone asked her - when she saw the screen. It was too much like watching her family burn all over again. She gripped the Doctor's arm around her, perhaps squeezing it too tight but he didn't notice. He couldn't feel.

He felt utterly powerless as he watched his friends practically burn to death. "Please. I'm begging you, I'll do anything! Put me in their place! You can do anything to me, I don't care, just get them out of there!"

But the Daleks said nothing.

Renata frantically looked between the screen and the empty spot behind them. That was Gabriella - _Gabby_ \- dying in there, the girl who'd been so curious about the world that she took the greatest risk of her life by coming into the TARDIS. It was Gabby, the first girl - the first human - to ever make Renata feel fondness towards them. Martha had done wonders but even after her, Renata was always weary of humans...even poor Donna got a taste of it before meeting Gabby.

Gabby had helped change Renata so much and the Time Lady had only realized it up until now. The intoxicated energy inside her was a result of her trying to keep Gabby safe. Never in her life did Renata ever dream of putting herself in danger for a human. Each person she'd met so far had slowly changed her - no one more than the Doctor - but Gabby was a really close second.

And now she was gone. Dead.

"You are connected to the TARDIS. Now, feel it die," the Supreme Dalek said to the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

The regeneration energy exploded and managed to throw Gabby across the room, her back hitting the rails. The golden energy around her had faded as a strong purple glow took over instead. Donna, however, seemed more immune to the regeneration energy. It merely left her to spread to the severed hand now twitching...spreading more...and more...until it formed the shape of a man.

And then suddenly the Doctor sprang up from the floor.

Donna gawked with a mouth fully open. "It's you!"

"Oh yes!"

Her eyes happened to lower and made her realize he wasn't wearing any clothes. "And you're naked!"

It didn't faze him whatsoever. "Oh yes!"

~ 0 ~

"Total TARDIS destruction in ten rels!" one of the Daleks announced. "Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!"

~ 0 ~

Gabby slowly blinked awake from her spot and saw the new Doctor trying to reach for something on the console. She ignored the question of _how_ it was possible, but she knew it wasn't the Doctor they knew. "Hey - you get away from there!" She lurched towards him, with a hand forwards and accidentally fired a jet of purple butterflies.

It didn't reach the Doctor in time, for he had pressed a specific button on the console, but it did go over Donna who shrieked in horror and tried swatting them away. Gabby brought her hands to her chest, eyes widened and flickering from side to side.

Had she just done that?

~ 0 ~

"Four! Three! Two! One!" the Dalek said just as the TARDIS faded from the energy.

It struck the Doctor more than he would've thought. He felt empty and yet there was an overwhelming fury that began to spread through him.

"The TARDIS has been destroyed. Now, tell me, Doctor... what do you feel?" the Supreme Dalek asked him. "Anger? Sorrow? Despair?"

"Yeah," the Doctor answered through gritted teeth.

Renata sniffed as it truly dawned on her that Gabby and Donna were gone. She started to scream with the same fury the Doctor was keeping inside, only her fury seemed to bring something else outside. Once again, the golden energy burst from her to strike whatever was in front of her. Jack and Rose had to dive in opposite directions and the Doctor had to let go of her before he was burned. Renata's sobs were painful enough to hear, but it seemed like each time she expelled energy it physically pained her. The only difference now was that there were a few (half) formed golden butterflies in the midst of the energy blasts.

"The cosmic butterfly," Rose whispered in true horror. It _was_ Renata. "She's here."

Jack had no idea what Rose meant but he did see more Daleks coming for them - for Renata - and decided to act. He grabbed his gun on the side and fired. "Get away!"

"Exterminate!" the Supreme Dalek directly shot Jack.

"No!" Rose watched Jack fall to the ground. She was yet to learn about his new immortal abilities - the ones she herself granted him. She rushed over to his side, hoping that they'd gotten just a bit lucky and that he would still be alive. "Jack! Oh, my God. Oh, no…"

The Doctor didn't know whether to go to Rose and keep her away from the leering Daleks or Renata who was still crying and bursting with energy. The Time Lady helplessly cried but the Doctor no longer knew if her tears were for Gabby and Donna or for herself being in physical pain.

"Detain the Time Lady in the Vault, along with the Doctor and their companion," the Supreme Dalek commanded.

Renata could see her surroundings from the corners of her eyes and it looked a lot like Daleks. She groaned and put her best effort to standing up without hurting the Doctor and Rose.

"You need to stop," the Doctor hurried to catch her before she fell forwards.

"I-I can't," she swallowed hard, clearly in pain. "It's-it's just coming ou…" Her body lurched forwards again, onto him in the process. He understood she couldn't control it and it scared him that this was her end as well. If the toxins were in too deep then regeneration wouldn't be possible.

He didn't want to lose her twice.

~ 0 ~

The new Doctor had found himself a blue suit to wear and was making mends to the TARDIS to the best of his ability under the circumstances. "All repaired! Lovely. Shh! No-one knows we're here! Gotta keep quiet. Silent running, like on submarines when they can't even drop a spanner. Don't drop a spanner. I like blue, what do you think?"

Donna was completely awed by the fact there was a literal copy of the Doctor in front of them, but Gabby was a bit more angry.

"You tell me how the hell I conjured butterflies!" She pointed at him as if he was the reason for her new ability, and in pointing at him...she released more purple butterflies that he had to swat away from his face.

"Watch where you point that thing!" he said with a scrunched face.

"How is this possible!?" Gabby stomped her foot. "How are _you_ possible!?"

"Maybe it's what Time Lords do," Donna said after some careful thinking. "Like they lop a bit off and grow another one? You're like worms!"

"No, no, no, no, no, I'm unique!" the Doctor said, sounding incredibly offended. "Never been another like me! Because all that regeneration energy went into the hand - look at my hand, I love that hand…" he wiggled his fingers but that didn't bring any amusement from either woman. "But then you touched it -- WHAM!" he screamed so loud that both women jumped.

"Stop that!" Gabby exclaimed.

"It was an instantaneous biological metacrisis. I grew... out of you," he said to Donna, not appearing to like the reality of things. "Still, could be worse."

Gabby exchanged a look with Donna and without having to tell her to do it, Gabby raised her finger and pointed it at the Doctor. A series of purple butterflies slapped his face.

"Stop that!" He cried.

"Then watch it, spaceman!" Donna snapped. She wasn't going to let some carbon copy tell her off.

"Oi! Watch it, Earth-girl!" the Doctor ended up using the same tone, surprising himself and the others in the process. "Oh!" he was even doing the same gaping mouth expression as Donna. "I sound like you! I sound all... all sort of, rough!"

"Oi!" Donna said, not sure if that was an insult or just something Doctor-y.

"Oi!" went the Doctor in the same exact tone.

"Oi!"

"Oi!"

"Would you stop it!?" Gabby shouted at them both. "We need to get back to the Crucible and save the others!"

But as Gabby reminded them of the pending trouble, the Doctor had come to another realization. His hand was over his chest and there was a completely terrified expression on his face. "You are kidding me, no way. One heart...I've got one heart! This body... has got only one heart!"

That definitely got both Gabby and Donna to freeze. "What?" They even said together.

Donna wanted to verify for herself so she put her hand over his chest and felt the one heartbeat underneath. "You're human!"

"Oh, that's disgusting!" cried the man.

"Would you stop that!?" Gabby once more shouted at him. She was finding it hard to believe that this was truly another Doctor when he was being so incredibly rude towards their kind.

"I'm... part Time Lord, part human…" the Doctor scowled and looked at Donna. "Well, isn't that wizard?"

"I kept hearing that noise... that heartbeat," Donna said, beginning to feel like it was all his fault.

"Oh, that was me. My single heart," he said dismissively as he went back to the console. "'Cos I'm a- complicated event in time and space, must've rippled back. Converging on you."

"But why me?"

"Because you're special."

Donna got exasperated with the stupid answer. "Oh, I keep telling you: I'm not."

"Of course you are, Donna." Even Gabby was agreeing with him which just further irritated her.

"Oh…" the Doctor realized something after really studying Donna's shifting response, "You really don't believe that, do you? I can see, Donna... what you're thinking. All that attitude, all that lip, 'cos all this time... you think you're not worth it."

"Stop it," Donna spat and turned her head away from him and Gabby.

"Shouting at the world 'cos no-one's listening. Well... why should they?"

"Do you really think that about yourself, Donna?" Gabby softly asked. Donna wouldn't look at her but she didn't shake her head to deny it either. "Why? I think you're amazing."

"Oh," Donna scoffed. "Please. You're an artist -- you've got your whole life ahead of you and what have I done with mine? Waste it."

"You haven't wasted your life, Donna. It's been a bumpy ride but there's so much you can do."

"We were always heading for this," the Doctor mumbled in thought, getting both women to gaze at him. "You came to the TARDIS on your wedding day--"

"--I was kidnapped!" Donna said, for a moment sounding like Renata that she smiled for just one second.

"And you found me again," the Doctor went on, referring to the Adipose Industries event. "Even your grandad...and your car!" he was suddenly so excited. "Donna, your car! You parked your car right where the TARDIS was gonna land, that's not a coincidence at all! We've been blind! Something's been drawing us together for such a long time!"

"Stop spinning your crazy man," Gabby physically went ahead and stopped him from endlessly turning in his spot. "And explain yourself."

"You're talking like... destiny," Donna released a breath. "But there's no such thing... is there?"

"The Cosmic Butterfly is a well known destiny," the Doctor said and looked to Gabby who just blinked response.

"Come again?"

"Well it's what I know, what I heard," he said. "Cos see, the parallel worlds' walls have been crumbling for some time and a lot of these things echo into our world, bleed through it. And since I was a complicated event in the time lines, I heard things. _You_ , Gabby, are the Cosmic Butterfly. You are another fixed point in time. You are…" he seemed to run out of breath just thinking about whatever the Cosmic Butterfly truly was, "You are something that...requires a lot of caution."

"Doctor, you're scaring me," Gabby took a few steps back and swallowed hard. "Rose said the same thing about a butterfly…but she thought it was Renata."

"No, it's you. You're the Cosmic Butterfly. Your finger!" He reached for her hand despite having to fight with her to take it. "Your hands! You're already beginning to express those powers! My regeneration energy kickstarted them! They've been dormant up until now. Sorry about that."

Gabby's head was spinning with thousands of questions but the main thing she wanted to know concerned Renata. For whatever that was happening to herself right now, she didn't feel weak like Renata was. The energy was just coming out of her like nothing. Clearly, it wasn't the same for Renata. "What about Ren? She's worse off than me."

"Because she's not like you," the Doctor said, visibly swallowing hard. Fear had etched across his face, his eyes widening slowly. "Word will travel about her. They have in other worlds. She's...something else, something more chaotic..."

"What do you mean?" Gabby felt her chest constrict. The prediction of death, that's all that came to mind.

"They called her...the Vortex Butterfly in the other worlds."

~ 0 ~

Down in the vault there were few noises, and the few were overpowered by the constant groans and cries of Renata. The Daleks had placed her, the Doctor and Rose in three separate 'prisons' in the Vault room - a spacious room - that looked more like spotlights. The Doctor was in-between Renata and Rose, but despite where they were and what was probably coming next, most of the Doctor's attention - if not all - was on his right.

Renata was sitting over her legs, her body leaning forwards as if she were throwing up, and couldn't stop groaning. Every part of her body _ached._ Because every few minutes her body would expel more golden energy that inflamed her entire prison - blinding anyone around her - and would then leave her in a more weakened state. And when she wasn't groaning, she cried, because of the pain...and because her friends were dead.

"Interesting child of Time," Davros' raspy voice honestly gave Rose the shivers. Perhaps it wasn't all that bad being trapped inside the prison if it meant keeping Davros from touching her. However, he seemed more focused on the Time Lady on their far right. "I assume this is the Cosmic Butterfly Dalek Caan mentioned."

The Doctor gritted his teeth so hard he actually felt the sting of pain through his jaw. "You _leave_ her alone," he darkly warned.

"It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long--"

"No, no, no, no, no. We're not doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, 'cos the Supreme Dalek said 'vault', yeah? As in, dungeon. Cellar. Prison. You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement, like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have... an arrangement," Davros barely finished when Renata's loud, raspy laugh cut through the conversation.

She raised her head a bit, revealing her pale cheeks. "Forrrrgive mee…" she drew in a breath, "...for laughing….ha!" She groaned and clutched her stomach.

"You're the Dalek's pet!" the Doctor spat.

Davros turned his chair towards Rose, and in doing the blonde leaned back as if he would cross the prison. "So very full of fire, is he not? And to think, you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel to find him again."

"Admirable," Renata once again cut in, surprising Rose (and perhaps the Doctor for a moment). Renata wished she could stand but she honestly couldn't even feel her legs anymore. "She's...been brave enough...to do what...some of us couldn't. He had toooo leave her...but sheee...she fought to come baaack…" She tried turning her head in Rose's direction in a way that would cause her the least throbbing. "Admirable. Brave."

For a moment, Rose's face softened at the woman. "I've met a lot of versions of you...but you're the only who's ever complimented me."

Renata smiled weakly. "Yeah, well...I'm not a nice person," she sniffed. "In fact...I'm a liar."

"Enough!" Davros snapped but Renata screamed and let the energy flame from her body.

"If I'm dying then I'm gonna say what I want!"

"Renata, save your energy," the Doctor turned to her desperately. "Please, no more talking, no more moving…"

"Ah, forget it Doctor," Renata swallowed hard and turned her body to face him and Rose instead of Davros. "For once...I want to be honest. And if this is really it...I want people to know that I-I did get better. I tried to."

"Don't-don't talk," the Doctor continued to plead but she had made her choice.

"Rose, you have to understand…" Renata shuddered a breath and placed a palm against the invisible barrier. She was going to try to stand. "I-I'm not, I've never been a good person but he--" she made a small nod towards the Doctor, "--he found something good in me. He tried helping me and I repaid him by breaking his hearts."

Rose didn't know why but she was clinging to Renata's every word. She could feel the woman's pain and regret, making her appear more human than any other version she'd met before.

"I-I made...all the wrong choices," Renata scrunched her face as she struggled to stand up.

"Renée, please," the Doctor whispered for her to stop but she just wouldn't.

"And when I-I realized that I...that I made the wrong choice, I didn't do anything about it. I let time pass me by, _centuries,_ until I felt like I was just...floating through. But you, Rose, you were the opposite. Things pulled you apart...but you wouldn't take it - you did something about it. And now here you are. That...that is _admirable._ I respect you. I didn't before but...well, that's another thing the Doctor and everyone else on this planet has taught me."

Rose actually felt tears in her eyes. She didn't even know Renata enough to cry over something she said about her, but Rose couldn't help it. It was as if she could feel every last bit that Renata was harboring inside her hearts. "There were rumors about the Cosmic Butterfly that didn't make sense to me," Rose almost smiled at the irony. Some would say that the Cosmic Butterfly was a dangerous creature and yet others said it was known to be emphatic and even made it a two way street. Perhaps this is what Renata was doing unknowingly.

Renata was none the wiser. She had started something and she wanted to finish it before her body prevented her from. "You know what? Right now, I'm 756 years old and I realize that I don't think I've ever truly loved my lives. I've lived, almost had a child, but I was never really happy." She paused for a moment, head hanging low before concluding what she wanted to do. She'd managed to stand up but was leaning entirely against the prison's wall. She met the Doctor's gaze with a sad smile. "I confess that I, Renata, Reneé, might just want to die."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to get ready eyed. With their proper tools Renata couldn't follow the true customs of what a Time Lord did before dying. Her confession dial was non-existent and so she would do it verbally. She would confess the last of her secrets to him, to anyone who would listen.

"Please don't do it," his beg was frail but Renata just sniffed and smiled at him, assuring him things would be okay even when she had no idea if that was true.

"I confess that I made the wrong choice centuries ago because I was scared, because I was a coward. I confess that I never truly moved on. And I confess that meeting you again scared me to the bone because I was afraid of falling again. I was afraid of hurting you again. And I did it. And I am _so_ sorry. I confess that I do love you, that I have never stopped, and that is not a regret."

The Doctor wished he could get to her in that moment and hold her. He didn't even think about their argument, much less his anger. She truly felt like she was dying and what was worse is that she _wanted_ to die. She didn't want to live anymore. Her life was so unbearable that she would rather it end. He pounded a fist against the wall keeping him away from her, frustrated that he couldn't do any of the things he wanted.

Renata turned her head at Davros who'd been nothing but silent for the past minutes. Her expression had gone dark, a new emotion she had yet to display. "And I confess that if I'm truly dying, I am going to take down every last Dalek on this ship. You wanted a child of Time? You got the worst one." The flames of energy danced over her body until, once again, it was released and covered her prison from top to bottom.

"Interesting energy," Davros had to confess himself. "The same energy that Dalek Caan spoke of." He pressed a button on the control panel of his chair and revealed Dalek Caan himself planted on a platform in the room.

"She is the _Vortex Butterfly_ ," Dalek Caan said in a sing-song manner. Confusion spread across the Doctor's face but a more fearsome feeling took over Rose. She spared Renata a brief glance with widened eyes.

"That's not - that's…" the Doctor did the same and stared down at Renata. She'd crumpled to the floor again, groaning as new flames of energy prepared to burst. "That's _the...vortex!"_ the Doctor almost smacked himself for being so blind. "Of course!"

"What is he talking about?" Rose asked him, eyes flickering from Renata to Dalek Caan.

"The golden energy is the Time Vortex but I couldn't know that because the toxins have mutated it with the Osiran energy. I completely forgot that the Osiran energy's main function is to heal and that's a huge contradiction to the levels of the Vortex inside Renata, not to mention the Block Transfer energy from Zhe's gallery. It's growing volatile the more it combines." 

Rose hated to admit that in times like these, she still could find a moment to appreciate his rambling of light speed.

Renata began to cry again but the burst of energy overshadowed her voice. The Doctor turned to the woman, trying to keep his eyes on her despite the blinding light from her energy. "The Time Vortex, the Block Transfer energy, the Osiran energy...they've created something new. The Vortex Butterfly. The butterflies, Renée."

"The butterflies of death," Dalek Caan giggled, causing a deepened scowl to mark the Doctor's face.

"Shut up!" He snapped.

When the cortex energy dissipated once more, Renata slightly turned her head at him. Her eyes were red and teary from fatigue. She noticed the way Rose was now staring at her. "You-you about this, don't you?"

Seeing who she was talking to, the Doctor quickly turned to Rose, desperate for any information that could help Renata. "Rose? Please?"

Rose didn't want to say anything particularly bad considering Renata had just poured her hearts and feelings out to her just minutes before. It would be wrong but... keeping quiet would also be wrong. "I thought you were the Cosmic Butterfly. The Vortex Butterfly is a far more dangerous creature when it wants to be. I've met many versions of you and...and some of them were like Gabby. These big butterfly creatures...like hybrids."

For a minute, Renata panicked at the idea that perhaps death wasn't coming for her. A space mutation was creeping over instead. "So...so what's going to happen to me?"

"So cold and dark. Fire is coming... the endless flames…" Dalek Caan answered and this time it was Rose who shot it a glare.

"Shut up! I don't understand how you know all that, but--"

"Dalek Caan flew into the Time War, unprotected," Davros explained to her. "He saw Time. Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind."

"And I saw everything," Dalek Caan agreed from the platform. "The Vortex Butterfly draws from the Time Vortex itself and can kill anything in its path. The Cosmic Butterfly can follow in the same path. I saw them and I saw all three of you here, and I know that the Doctor will be here, as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious Children of Time! And one of them will die...!"

The Doctor could barely contain his rage, but in the end what was the point of containing it? "Was it you!? kill Donna and Gabby? Why did the TARDIS door close? Tell me!"

Davros was delighted by the sight. "Oh that's it! The end, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your companions... show them your true self." The Doctor did not look anywhere but the floor, uneasy. "Dalek Caan has promised me that, too.

"I have seen it. At the time of ending, the Doctor's soul will be revealed," Dalek Caan confirmed, but the Doctor wasn't having it from a ridiculous Dalek that couldn't even move anymore.

"What does that mean?"

"We will discover it together... our final journey," Davros promised. "Because the ending approaches. The testing begins."

"Testing of what?" the Doctor called when Davros turned away from them.

"The Reality Bomb." He brought up a screen for them to see exactly what he was talking about. "Behold... the apotheosis of my genius."

Down in a chamber were dozens of humans crowded into one spot like a herd. The Doctor dreaded what they were planning on doing with the innocent humans, but all he could do was watch.

~0~

"Now you tell me what this whole butterfly thing is all about!" Gabby was rounding on the new Doctor while he madly went around the console, trying to figure out what the Daleks were up to. "Or so help me-" but before she could finish her threat, the TARDIS shuddered and rocked the trio inside.

"It's the planets. The twenty-seven planets!" the Doctor realized once he caught sight of the monitor.

~0~

Renata had raised her head the necessary amount to see what was on the screen. Each stolen planet were bathed in a white glow.

"But that's Z-Neutrino Energy," the Doctor realized first. "Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single stream - no!" he shouted once he figured out the plan. There were too many lives at stake and they had no care about it. "Davros. Davros, you can't! You can't! NO!"

The planets glowed stronger but inside the chamber the humans were beginning to dissolve into atoms. And just like that, the glows around the planet disappeared, but so had the humans entirely.

~0~

"What...what just happened?" Rose swallowed hard. She could see the Doctor's blind panic - almost feel it herself - and the satisfaction on Davros crusty face meant true horror.

"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler," Davros answered. "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality Bomb cancels it out - structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."

"The stars are going out…" Rose quietly realized. It was what was killing the stars, but how could they do it in every world? She turned her head in Renata's direction, tears coming to her eyes. "It was me. You-you were right." Renata met the girl's gaze and, despite bearing no accusation, she confirmed it with silence. Rose felt like her lungs had run out of air once the load truly fell on her. She SHE hadn't created any Reality Bomb, bit her traveling through parallel worlds had cracked the already weakened walls of the world's from the Battle of Canary Wharf. Each time she crossed to a different world, she gave the Daleks access to a new world of experiments. It was HER her fault.

"You couldn't have known," Renata exhaled as if she'd been holding her breath that whole time. "And besides, THEY they-" she narrowed her eyes at Davros, "-are the ones who created this. They stole 27 planets, turning them into one vast transmitter. And they blasted that wavelength…"

"Across the entire universe," Davros finished for her, eager to actually, as if he wanted everyone to know their amazing project. "Never stopping. Never faltering. Never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry, I meant to have this up earlier but I've recently been getting into the marvel world where i've literally been watching the movies nonstop. It's to the point where I wanna write for some of these characters. Whoopsie!
> 
> Alrightie so this chapter was a doozie buuuut we finally know who is who. Gabby is the Cosmic Butterfly, a lesser power from what Renata is but still powerful all on her own. And as for Renata, being the Vortex Butterfly is something that'll forever change her (but slowly and more focused in the next story!). I don't think they realize it but Gabby and Renata are what Donna and 10 are: they've been brought together by fate. Will they realize that? Guess we'll have to wait and see!
> 
> And I hope that Renata's and Rose's feelings towards each other was well received. I went back and forth deciding how I wanted their meeting to go and I ultimately felt like this was the way to do it and stick to their personalities. Renata started off cold and distant from humans so naturally she would hate Rose in the beginning, but after everything she's gone through that had to change. Rose, however, has seen so many bad versions of Renata that she can't help but be weary and slightly irritated that the Doctor would give her more attention. Of course when Renata starts opening up to Rose, I feel like that's when Rose realizes that this Renata has hearts.
> 
> P.S As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	27. The Vortex Butterfly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle against the Daleks is coming to an end and with it comes the Vortex Butterfly. People are lost and those remaining are still fractured. When it's all over, Renata and the Doctor must decide what to do with themselves.

As soon as the new Doctor had figured out what the Daleks planned to do, he set to work with the tools he had in the TARDIS. He'd been working fairly fast considering the enormous pressure there was to get things right and working.

"Doctor - or whatever you name is - what are you doing!?" Gabby was so tired of watching the man circle the console without uttering a word to her or Donna. For all they knew, he could be making a toaster.

"This is our only hope!" the Doctor promised her and made a nod at his device that was coming together. "A Z-Neutrino biological inversion catalyser."

"Yeah, Earth-girls remember?" Donna nearly tapped the side of his head to make a point.

"Davros said he built those Daleks out of himself. His genetic code runs through the entire race. If I can use this to lock the Crucible's transmission onto Davros himself…"

"It destroys the Daleks?"

"Biggest backfire in history," the Doctor grinned mischievously.

"That's great," Gabby was truly grinning from ear to ear, but she raised her glowing purple hands to bring up another matter they hadn't truly solved yet. "Now what do I do about this!?"

The Doctor wearily eyed her hands. "Keep 'em...away…"

Gabby wasn't remotely amused. "Am I going to die like Renata? Is that what this is? You said I'm the Cosmic Butterfly and that Renata is the Vortex Butterfly, but what does that mean really? What can I do with this? Will it kill me?"

"I don't - I don't know the implications it'll have on your biology," the Doctor admitted. "But right now it might be a really good weapon against the Daleks." Gabby wasn't really sure how to feel about being a 'weapon' against alien threats. "And as for Renata? The energy inside her is far too strong, it could be killing her as we speak."

Gabby gulped and glanced at Donna. What could either of them do from where they were? Gabby didn't know the answer but she knew that she had to do something to save her. Ever since they met, Renata had done nothing but try to keep Gabby safe. Even when things were terrible, Renata always strove to keep Gabby out of harm's way. Gabby couldn't - and wouldn't - let that happen. She had the power in her fingertips to stop it, to at least help. She didn't care if it would contaminate her too or if it would kill her. The Doctor may be right in that she was a weapon they could use against the Daleks.

"What do I need to do?"

The Doctor eyed her for a second, deciding whether or not she was being honest and if she could actually _do_ it. She gave a nod as if she'd read his mind.

"You draw your power - so they say - from your emotions, from what you feel. Take all of that and focus it on what you want to do."

Gaby nodded fast, her eyes wandering around the room. Right now all she could think of was Renata and the Doctor. They were both in such terrible danger and even then Renata was getting the worst of it. Her energy was swallowing her whole and just the thought of Renata dying terrified Gabby - she felt her world would crumble.

Flames began to rise from her fingers and when she noticed it, she knew exactly what to do.

~ 0 ~

Renata had gained a better sense of balance again, but it didn't stop the deep fatigueness she felt. Her energy - the vortex, apparently - had stopped randomly bursting from her but every now and then it would still burst. Even if they weren't strong explosions, she could still feel it bubbling inside her.

She touched the prison wall around her and watched its ripples mix with her golden energy. "Maybe...this isn't all bad," she whispered so that the Doctor could hear. "What if I use this - whatever it is - to our advantage?"

"Don't do anything, I'm begging you," the Doctor was so tired of asking her the same thing. He was afraid that each time the energy burst from her, it would be the last one she would be able to endure. "Just...just sit." Renata shook her head but before she could verbally refuse, they heard a familiar voice coming through a comms in the room.

"This is Martha Jones representing the Unified Intelligence Taskforce on behalf of the Human Race. Can you hear me?"

Renata stumbled forwards, her face hitting the wall not so kindly. "Martha! Is that really Martha!?"

Martha Jones finally came to appear in a screen for them. "This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat: can you hear me?"

"Martha?" the Doctor could smile enough to see she was alright and unharmed, so far.

"It begins as Dalek Caan foretold," Davros announced, but neither the Doctor nor Renata paid him attention.

"The Children of Time will gather... and one of them will die!"

"Would you stop saying that! Put me through!" ordered the Doctor.

The communication became a two-way and Martha seemed relieved to see them again, although she immediately got concerned over Renata's frail appearance. She paid very bit of her attention to Rose, considering her priorities. "Ren? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just get to the point," Renata made a gesture as best as possible.

"State your intent," Davros commanded Martha and Martha was happy to do so.

Martha raised her hand to show she held a strange key. "I've got the Osterhagen Key. Leave this planet and its people alone, or I'll use it."

"Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?" the Doctor inquired, a bit offended that he had no idea what the thing was when UNIT created it. They were supposed to inform him every now and then.

"There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."

The noise that came out of Renata was piercing. She was _appalled_ at such a creation. "What do you mean!? Martha Jones! Are you insane?!"

Martha was in a visible struggle with her duty and her morals, but she didn't stop until she got everything out that she needed to say. "The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the Human Race is so great, so without hope... that this becomes the final option."

"That's never an option!" yelled the Doctor.

"Don't argue with me, Doctor," Martha snapped, further surprising him. "Cos there's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something, but what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"

Rose had to admit where she saw a good job, because not just anyone could threaten the Daleks with such good content. "She's _good_." Of course neither the Doctor nor Renata would agree with her.

"Who's that?" Martha finally gave Rose the decent attention to be interested in her.

"My name's Rose. Rose Tyler."

Martha froze but her eyes immediately found Renata's. The Time Lady gave a confirming nod, but she made it clear that she was just fine with it.

Suddenly, the screen divided itself into two squares. Jack's face flashes next to Martha's and he was holding a peculiar necklace in hand. Sarah Jane, Jackie Tyler, and Mickey Smith were right behind him.

"Captain Jack Harkness calling all Dalek boys and girls!" Jack exclaimed rather loudly with a grin that promised greatness. "Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off."

Now it was Rose's turn to nearly fall over. "He's still alive!?" she squinted her eyes though when she saw Jackie behind him. "Oh, my God, that's- that's my mum!"

"And Mickey," the Doctor added. "Captain, what are you doing?"

"I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe. I break the shell... the entire Crucible goes up."

The Doctor looked between Martha and Jack - and those behind Jack - as if they'd all gone mad, and perhaps they had. "You can't! Where did you get a Warp Star?!"

"Wrong question," Renata shook her. "I can't believe they have the courage to do that - wrong courage, but...courage nonetheless." Although it honestly startled her that these humans had the boldness to do what not everyone could.

"It's mine, Doctor," Sarah Jane spoke up. "We had no choice, we saw what happened to the prisoners."

"Impossible. That face... after all these years…" Davros seemed truly surprised to see Sarah Jane on the screen.

Sarah Jane couldn't say the same. Her eyes narrowed on the man - creature - and a cold glare took her over. "That's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?"

"Oh, this is meant to be. The Circle of Time is closing!" Davros exclaimed. "You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."

"And I've learned how to fight since then. You let the Doctor go or this Warp Star - it gets opened!"

"I'll do it," Jack raised the Warp Star a bit more and tweaked it to prepare it. "Don't imagine I wouldn't."

"Now, that's what I call a ransom," Rose chuckled, feeling just a bit more on the optimistic side. The Daleks wouldn't let their precious plan fall to bits if they could help it.

"And the prophesy unfolds," Davros said, pulling Rose out of her thoughts to notice the Doctor's downcasted gaze.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed! See him! See the heart of him!" Dalek Caan cackled deliriously, taunting the silent Doctor.

"Oh shut it you tin can!" Renata unexpectedly snapped. She knew exactly what they were trying to do to the Doctor and even if she was trapped inside a prison cell, she wouldn't allow it.

"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor," Davros wheeled himself closer to the Doctor who refused to look up from the ground. "You take ordinary people and you fashion _them_ into weapons. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

"What the - _no_!" Renata shouted again, more furious than before. "No one makes people into anything! You change them, yes, but their core remains the same."

The Doctor could appreciate her attempt to make him look better but he knew what he was, he always knew. Wherever he went, destruction followed. Even Renata herself had been caught in his trail. He gave her the worst ultimatum back on that horrible night before his wedding, and made her miserable for the rest of her lives. And after her...he couldn't even count the lives he'd destroyed because he turned them into people who didn't care for their own lives. They would use themselves as bait, go farther than they ever would because they met _him_.

It was all true.

And even if Renata tried to sweeten the darkness, he couldn't believe it. She shouldn't have to waste her breath - which was already numbered - on him. "Renata-"

"No!" she snapped at him without a single second of hesitation. "You are many things, Doctor, but I'm not letting these murderers bring you down with them! As _if_!" The golden Vortex began to dance around her body again, growing stronger the angrier she rambled on. "These humans-" she made a quick gesture to the screen where she had a good captive audience, "-are trying to save their world by any means necessary, even if it means destroying it! And yes, they are completely _wrong_!" She specifically looked up at the screens, making sure that each and every one of them looked her in her hard eyes. It was as if their mother was giving them a lecture, and it was a strange feeling for those who hadn't even met her. "But _they_ made their choices! _Not_ the Doctor!"

"Ren, calm down," Martha could see the light around her friend's body starting again.

"NO!" Renata frantically said. "And stop telling me to calm down! I'm not calming down! I've had it!"

"You make nice speeches, Time Lady-" Davros began but she wasn't quite finished yet.

"-my _name_ -" she pounded a fist against her prison wall, "-is _Renata_! Learn it because as soon as I get out of here, _I'm_ going to end you!"

"Renée, enough!" the Doctor turned to her. His anger had finally broken through his seal of silence but even though a part was directed at her, it wasn't for the same reason. He wouldn't let her further destroy her morals for him. Not her.

"There is no point in denying the truth," Davros insisted. "Already, I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the subwave network."

"Who was that?" the Doctor asked, momentarily curious of who else he could've destroyed that he wasn't remembering. That's how many...he couldn't even remember _all_ of them!

"Harriet Jones," Rose answered quietly, closing her eyes when she remembered the terrible way Harriet had died after opening the Subway network for them. "She gave her life to get you here."

"How many more? Just think," Davros called to the Doctor again, nearing his prison hold. "How many have died in your name?"

"Doctor, don't," Renata knew that he was going to start thinking about the people he'd lost along the way. He just would. He was too guilty to ever forget them like that.

And as he realized before, the Doctor lost count along the way. He remembered many faces, each dying to save him and whoever else happened to be around. He always tried making the tough calls but someone always wanted to be brave - to prove themselves to him that they were just as brave as he was - and it always resulted in death. It followed him because that's who he was, that's who he was at his core. He could never stay still and people around him paid the price for it.

He barely held himself together once the weight of it truly fell over his shoulders, but the Daleks had won: they'd broken him. They made him face his reality and made him look at himself.

And Davros knew it too. "The Doctor... the man who keeps running, never looking back, because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you... yourself."

"STOP!" Renata screamed and released the brightest energy she had yet to reveal. Her fists pounded endlessly against the prison walls, one after the other and stronger than the previous.

"Renata!" the Doctor swore he could see cuts against her fists from the constant hits against the wall, but she just wouldn't stop. "Renata!"

She cried and banged the walls with everything she had. The Vortex wouldn't fade this time either - it was actually cutting through the walls. The Daleks had prepared for the Doctor alright, but not the Vortex Butterfly.

"It's the Crucible... or the Earth!" Martha called when she felt it was the right time to really tighten the Daleks.

But the Daleks had other plans. They teleported Martha and Jack, along with everyone else who had tagged along. They all dropped into the Vault without their threatening weapons.

"Don't move!" the Doctor was quick to shout at them. "All of you, stay still!"

"But Renata!" Martha had gotten up from the floor fairly fast and ran towards her friend who was still crying against her cell.

"No, Martha!" the Doctor helplessly banged against his own prison hold to stop the woman.

Renata's cell cracked with the Vortex seeping through until it finally shattered. The force of it blew Martha back, throwing her body onto the floor. Renata's own body fell forwards after the blast. Jack only went to Martha because she was closest, but it didn't keep the Doctor from yelling for Renata to wake up. He crashed his body against his prison, much like Renata had, until his head got woozy from so many hits.

"Doctor, you have to stop that!" Rose called to him when he looked ready to pass out.

"You will all surrender," a Dalek warned the group as it and a few other Daleks came towards them.

Jack looked back at Sarah Jane, Mickey and Jackie, nodding for them to stay down. There was no winning now. Renata, however, slowly blinked awake. She scanned the area in her spot, without moving, and decided to wait for the right moment.

"The final prophecy is in place. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek... the time has come!" Davros' voice practically shook with excitement. "Now...Detonate the Reality Bomb!"

The knobs of the Reality Bomb started working again, giving the twenty seven planets their strong glow.

"Davros, you can't!" the Doctor crashed his body one more time against his prison hold. "Just listen to me! Just STOP!"

"Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing! And no-one!"

Renata had barely flexed her left hand when she and the others began to hear a familiar, but completely impossible, wheezing noise. She'd been feeling so tired but now there was a small spot, somewhere inside, that felt a bit different. It was small but it sparked something...

The TARDIS appeared, looking as if nothing ever happened to it. It was the only thing that stopped the Doctor from repeatedly hurting himself against his prison. "But that's…"

"Impossible," Davros barely contained his shout.

The TARDIS settled into a nice spot and opened its doors, letting out a blinding light that could rival Renata's. The new Doctor bolted from the TARDIS with his device ready to go.

"What - don't!" the original Doctor cried despite not knowing - at that moment - how there was another copy of him.

Davros got over his shock and acted fast. With one pointed finger, he put a stop to the new Doctor's plan with a jet of electricity. He collapsed on the floor, not seriously injured but there would still be bruises.

"Activate holding cell," Davros instructed and a brand new prison hold appeared around the new man.

"Doctor!" Donna rushed out next and immediately saw the lost device on the floor. She snatched it before anything else could. "I've got it! But I don't know what to do!"

Donna became the next victim. The same electric jet of energy hit her and blew her against the TARDIS.

"Destroy the weapon!"

The Doctor called for Donna but there was no response from the woman, wherever it was she landed.

"Wait, how come there's two of you now?" Rose couldn't stop blinking. It was as if she was trying to see if blinking fast would erase the second DOctor.

"Human biological metacrisis. Never mind that, now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb."

"Wouldn't say that." Gabby appeared out of the TARDIS with a strong purple glow around her and a pair of two swirling, purple butterfly wings behind her. She didn't take a second to think about the consequences, she just acted. She thrust her left hand forwards and shot directly at Davros. A streak of purple butterflies swarmed their way towards the man.

"Attack!" he cried before the butterflies could read him.

"NO!" the Doctor went into another state of panic. The Reality Bomb was back on and now they also had to watch Gabby die all over again?

Gabby brought her wings over her body as a shield - _how_ that happened, she wouldn't be able to explain - but the same wings, only in purple, flapped in front of her. In her mind, there was only one thing: save her friends.

Renata was finally back and she had an icy cold glare on her face, despite the warmth she felt from the Vortex emanating around her. " _Not_ her!" her voice would make anyone wince, and it did. "You-" her wings flapped to create a force of wind laced with golden energy, "-stay-" flap!, "-away-" another flap, "-from her!" Golden swirls fired from her wings and hit the incoming Daleks.

"Detonation in twenty rels! Nineteen…" the Supreme Dalek's voice began to echo through all the rooms in the Crucible.

"Renata!" the Doctor vainlessly called for her. He was terribly scared for her and for the planets. He didn't know whether or not to be ashamed of the fact he couldn't decide which scared him more. "Renata, stop!"

But Renata, whether she heard him or not, thrust one hand after the other and split as many Daleks as she could. Gabby followed in her footsteps and cut through the Daleks that would near her. The Vortex Butterfly had come to life and was going to do whatever it took to keep her loved ones safe. Beautiful golden flames surrounded around her, contrasting the darkness she felt inside her knowing the battle that was upon them. She led the Cosmic Butterfly, her faithful companion, into the land of battle. One powered by the Vortex and the other by cosmic energy, the Daleks would never stand a chance.

"Exterminate!" Renata could hear dozens of them but she felt an incredible surge of power that she wanted to take full advantage of.

"Nine... eight... seven... six…"

Donna blinked awake and, like Gabby and Renata, she immediately knew there was something different about her. A heavy load of power dropped on her, but not in the same way as it had on Renata and Gabby.

"What is going on!?" Martha breathed in at the sight of her best friend taking down Daleks like there was no tomorrow while doing it with butterfly wings.

"The Vortex Butterfly and the Cosmic Butterfly are born," Dalek Caan laughed loudly enough to go over the streaks of energy. "But can they survive?"

"Shut up!" the Doctor practically bellowed at the deranged Dalek.

"Five... four... three... two... one.."

The entire group waited, even both Renata and Gabby had finally stopped once the Daleks in the Vault were dead, to see the end of all creation. They were mighty confused when nothing of the sort happened.

"Oh... closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous back-feed reversal loop!" Donna triumphantly, and rather confidently, flicked a switch from a control panel. "That button there!"

"Donna, you can't even change a plug!" the Doctor didn't know what was going on but he couldn't stop smiling. She looked absolutely at home working the controls.

Donna winked at him. "Do you wanna bet, Time Boy?"

"You will suffer for this!" Davros warned her, but Donna scoffed.

"Sure!" she went for another switch on the control panel and electrocuted Davros. "Oh...! Bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion."

"Alright Donna!" Rose laughed.

The Vault opened its doors to let more Daleks in. Renata raised her hands, taking aim, and prompted Gabby to do the same.

"Bring it," Gabby flexed her fingers. The energy around her was _amazing_. She wasn't in pain and even though she couldn't control it all so well, she just knew that this could be used for _good_ , not murdering as the new Doctor had said. Plus, she was thinking differently too and she didn't know what that meant! It was as if her brain had opened to new ideas, to new possibilities - different angles to look from!

"I got it, ladies!" Donna called from her spot and somehow powered down the Daleks' blaster-guns. "Weapons non-functional!" She smirked at everyone's confused stares. "What? Macrotransmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix?"

The Doctor's mouth had fallen open in honest, thorough, shock. "How did you work that out? You…"

"Time Lord. Part Time Lord," the new Doctor said a d for a brief moment they shared a silent, knowing look between them.

Donna didn't notice it. Why would she? She was having the time of her life saving the world - worlds! "Part Human! Oh, yes! That was a two-way biological metacrisis. Half Doctor... half Donna!"

"The Doctor-Donna…" Renata realized, thinking back to the Old planet they visited a while ago. "It was just like the Ood said." She turned her head at the Doctor, her Doctor. "It came true." He knew what she was trying to say: if they got that bit right then her prediction was going to come true as well.

He shook his head. _Never_.

"Holding cells deactivated!" Donna cheered for herself as the holding cells disappeared.

As soon as he was free, the Doctor dashed for Renata. He was about to hold her - or attempt to hug, whichever one felt better - when her wings flapped menacingly.

"Don't touch me," she warned him.

"Ren-"

"-the job is not done. More are coming," Renata turned away from him, head tilting towards the closed doors at the end.

"Ren?" Martha was back on her feet thanks to Jack. She cautiously approached Renata but the Doctor barred her from getting too close. There was something else in Renata's face that he couldn't figure out yet. "Renata? It's me, Martha. I-I can't say I understand very well what all that-" she made a gesture at Renata's wings, "-is but you're not okay. You must be exhausted. You should let me take you into the TARDIS."

"No," Renata said flatly. "I want to put an end to them, all of them."

Gabby wobbled on her feet, for the first time feeling a bit weak from the energy she'd suddenly garnered. "Maybe...it wouldn't be a bad idea…"

"Oi! Doctor!" Donna called to the original from the control panel. "Could use some help!" She already had the metacrisis Doctor with her, but a third set of hands would end things much quicker.

"Stop them!" Davros ordered the remaining Daleks inside.

Donna had other ideas. She clicked a button on the panel. "And spin!"

The Daleks advance.

Renata turned her head at the spinning Daleks, revealing a fury she'd been hiding. The energy was making her let it go. "No spin, just die!" she screamed and fired upon the closest, spinning Daleks.

"Renata!" Martha tried reaching for her but the Doctor was faster and yanked them both back.

"You can't touch her! That's the Time Vortex around her!" he nodded to the dancing, golden flames around Renata's body.

Renata desisted with the measly Daleks spinning around them. She set eyes on the biggest threat of them all: Davros. She stalked towards him, leaving her footprints in Vortex power on the floor. "YOU!"

Martha didn't waste time and shoved the Doctor after her. "Stop her before she gets killed!"

The Doctor quickly glanced at Donna and saw she was busily working with his metacrisis copy then glanced at the others to see them coming out with their own weapons against the Daleks. Gabby was the only one unattended, but Martha practically read his thoughts.

"I've got her!" she rushed for Gabby but remembered she couldn't touch her. Although the more Martha studied the girl, the quicker she realized Gabby's power wasn't as strong as Renata's. Her purple glow came and went, almost as if it were trying to face but Gabby was clinging to it. "Gabby? Gabby, you need to put that energy away!"

"I can't!" Gabby clutched her head. "I-I thought this new mind was great but now I feel like a computer that's overloading. The power... it's a lot."

Martha could only imagine. "Listen, you just have to stop-"

"-I can't! I need to help Renata! It's beyond me, it's an instinct!"

"You're connected," Martha blinked and quickly glanced at Renata. Renata was hell bent on getting Daleks, and now Davros, and it seemed she had a pull on Gabby too. The butterflies were connected in some way.

Near the TARDIS, Jack had gone in to collect his and Rose's guns in case they ended up needing them when they escaped. The others, including Rose, took to pushing away any spinning Daleks that managed to get too close to Donna and the TARDIS. Donna had the metacrisis Doctor working like mad to get all the planets home.

"Activate magnetron!" she ordered.

"Stop it at once!" Davros attempted to go for Donna when Renata struck just in front of him.

She moved to stand right in front with one hand extended forwards, bathed in Vortex energy that was waiting to be released. "You stay right where you are."

"The Vortex Butterfly will murder on her first day?" Davros seemed more bemused than afraid.

"I'd be doing the world a _favor_ ," Renata balled her fist, finally letting the rage out that she'd bottled up for years. "No one would miss you."

The Doctor was horrified to hear that logic and much more that it was coming from Renata. He was helpless as he looked between her, Gabby and Donna working madly to get the planets back in place. All three of his companions were changed because of him. He'd ruined them just like everyone before them. And it broke his hearts all over again. They were weapons, just like the Daleks told him. It was his curse and they had to live with it while he could only watch.

_Not Renata_. He couldn't bear watching her betray her own morals. She was always so sweet, so protective, even when she harbored deep secrets it never changed who she was at her core. "Renée! You can't do this!"

There was a sour smile on Renata's face. "Why not? Really, Doctor, who would give a damn? They're the ones who ruined our world. They murdered everyone. But now I have the power to end them, to pay them back with the same coin."

"Renata, I know where you're coming from. I've been there," the Doctor promised her. He thought of the first Dalek he met right after the Time War. The first Dalek that might have changed. In that time he could care less if it was a safe Dalek, if it had become best friends with Rose and gotten a new perspective on life. He wanted to see it dead, just like all the other Daleks. But Rose reminded him that even though everything was gone, he was still there and deserved a chance to live.

"Renata, you always said that you wanted to go home, that-that you would do anything to go home…" he started again but it was difficult to get out when he could see how each word of his punctured Renata's hearts. "But this isn't it. This won't get you home and it won't bring home back. Renata I'm sorry but... it's gone." Renata's face scrunched harder the more he drilled it into her head, drilled reality into her head. "Gallifrey is dead and going on a murder spree won't do anything to change that. But listen, you have people here too. You have Martha, you have Donna, you have me and you have a young girl who looks up to you. And right now, she's in pain because she's trying to help you."

Renata blinked, for a second coming out of her dark moment, and slightly glanced in the Doctor's way. He was desperately trying to show her a struggling Gabby who was barely able to stay on her feet. Martha and Mickey were trying to bring her towards the TARDIS but the girl refused, saying things about helping her.

"You see?" the Doctor caught onto her temporary moment of lucidness to finish making his point. "I think you're temporary connected and she feels like she has to help you."

Renata returned her attention to her threatening hand. Davros wasn't close to her anymore but all it took was one shot, one shot, and it would be enough to end him.

"It breaks my hearts that I can't bring your family back. Because I would, if there was any way that I could I really would." The Doctor tried stepping closing to her, hoping that he was getting through to her once and for all. "They're gone. Everyone's gone."

Renata started to shake and sniff until it turned into gentle a cry. The golden energy around her body died within seconds. She lowered her threatening hand and brought it against her mouth to cover her sobs. "Oh God, what am I doing?"

When the Doctor knew it was safe, he pulled her into a hug and let her shake and sob for a few minutes. She needed it.

By the control panel, Donna and the metacrisis Doctor were almost done working.

"We got it, Doctor! Ha!" Donna laughed as she watched each planet return to their rightful place.

Rose and Jack came by to see their progress, though Rose's gaze often fell on the original Doctor with Renata.

"Is anyone gonna tell us what's going on?" Jack asked them.

"The Doctor - the original - poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand," Donna explained rather fast, sounding a lot like the Doctor, "I touched the hand and he-" she nodded to the metacrisis Doctor, "-grew out of that, but that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head 'til the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life. Thank you, Davros! Part Human...part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor. I got his mind!"

"So there's three of you?" Sarah Jane wandered over at the explanation.

Even Rose was wearing the same face of surprise. "Three Doctors?"

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now!" Jack looked away for the same reason. It was then that he saw the original Doctor and Renata finally making their way to them. "Doc! Donna just explained how there's three of you now!"

"Great," the Doctor was walking slowly with Renata. He checked behind him to see Martha and Mickey were able to bring Gabby along.

"Donna, you were so unique that the timelines were converging on you," Renata managed to smile, though it was a tired one. "Human Being with a Time Lord brain."

"Very special," Gabby added. She was looking better too now that her link with Renata was lowering because the Time Lady's murderous endeavors stopped.

"But you promised me, Dalek Caan. Why did you not forsee this?" Davros turned his chair to Dalek Caan in new flourished anger.

Dalek Caan giggled knowingly.

"Oh, I think he did," the Doctor said when he figured it out. "Something's been manipulating the timelines for ages... getting Donna Noble to the right place at the right time."

"This would always have happened. I only helped, Doctor."

Davros didn't want to believe that his entire plan had failed and much more that it was always going to fail. "You...betrayed the Daleks?"

"I saw the Daleks. What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed 'no more'."

"Dalek...on _our_ side?" Renata would act more surprised if her facial features would allow it.

"Heads up!" Jack called when he saw the Vault doors opening up.

The Supreme Dalek had descended to the room. "Davros, you have betrayed us."

"It was Dalek Caan!"

"The Vault will be purged! You will all be exterminated!" the Supreme Dalek sent a death ray towards a central column, causing sparks to fly.

Jack had another thing to say. "Like I was saying, feel this!" He blasted the Dalek to smithereens with his large gun.

"No!" the metacrisis Doctor exclaimed when he saw the central column had been destroyed with the Supreme Dalek's ray. "We've lost the magnatron! And there's only one planet left!"

"And let me guess," the original Doctor began, "It's Earth?" both the metacrisis Doctor and Donna nodded their heads. "We can use the TARDIS. I'll do it." He brought Renata into the TARDIS and Martha and Mickey came in shortly afterwards with Gabby. "Renée, don't move! Got it?"

Renata had been sat in the Captain's chair and this time she didn't argue with him. She nodded her head instead. "I think the Butterfly is done."

The Doctor cocked his head to the side, disliking her choice of words but time was short. He ran to Gabby next. "Gabby? How we doin'?"

"Better, thanks," she smiled much more easily than Renata. "I think...I think I got a little less than Ren. I-I touched Donna when she touched your, uh, your hand…"

The Doctor paused to think about it for a second. "You must have activated your power via the metacrisis, but you didn't intake the same amount of Donna. It kitck-started the dormant energy of the Block Matrix from Zhe's gallery."

"But why am I not affected like Renata?"

"Renata's mutation was kick-started by Dorothy Bell and her Osiran powers. Plus, every Time Lord carries a bit of the Time Vortex inside them, you don't. You're human. You just have the Block Transfer connection."

"Oh, is that it?" Gabby sarcastically quipped.

"But you'll be fine - you and Renata will both be fine," the Doctor promised then ran for the console. He would get them sorted once they finished sorting this first. Everything would be just fine, just fine, because-

There was a strange commotion coming from the outside, it sounded like screaming. He hurried back outside and saw the shrieking, exploding Daleks from the screen Davros originally had for them.

"What've you done?!" he shouted in horror at his counterpart.

The new Doctor didn't seem that perturbed with the fact he had just slaughtered millions of Daleks in one go. "Fulfilling the prophecy." There was a wildness in his eyes that genuinely scared the original Doctor. "Do you know what you've done? Now, get in the TARDIS!" he roared and pointed the man for the blue box.

The metacrisis Doctor did so but he knew there was nothing more to do. It was already done. The Crucible would explode in minutes.

"Everyone! All of you inside, run! In, in, in, in, in!" the Doctor hurried along the remaining companions into the TARDIS. The Vault went up in flames but despite that, the Doctor knew Davros was still around. If he didn't come, he'd explode as well. "Davros? Come with me! I promise I can save you!"

"Never forget, Doctor - _you_ did this!" Davros voice echoed through the room. "I name you, forever, you are the Destroyer of Worlds!"

The Doctor stayed in his spot for a minute, frozen as he concluded that everything was right. He was a destroyer.

"Doctor!" someone called to him from inside the TARDIS. It snapped him out of his thoughts and brought him right in.

The console was actually crowded - a strange sight for someone who usually travelled alone or at least light - with all his companions trying to gather sense of what they'd just gone through.

"And! Off we go!" he went for the console, starting the TARDIS up. Soon as he did, the group rocked to a side.

"But what about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space!" Sarah Jane said as if anyone would forget that small detail.

"I'm on it!" the Doctor promised as he worked the console. He got in contact with Torchwood as fast as he could. "I want you to open up that Rift Manipulator - send all the power to me!"

Afterwards, he called up Sarah Jane so that they could get in contact with her son, Luke, and her advanced computer Mr. Smith. He gave them another instruction and once it was set in motion, he rushed around giving each of his companions a control to work on the console. It would be a many-people drive!

Renata could see everybody crowded over the console with the same gleeful smiles on their faces. Her hearts warmed at the sight of all those people who were able to gather together because of the Doctor. She only knew two of them but she only needed to know the Doctor to know that every single one of them were amazing. She closed her eyes and took in a quiet breath. It almost looked like she was taking in her last breath, which was immediately pulled the Doctor towards her.

"Renata!" he scurried up to her seat with such a pale face that Renata would've laughed if she could.

"I'm okay," she said in a frail voice. "I'm just... _so_ tired."

"I know, I know, I'm going to bring you to the medbay and-and we'll do all the testing and-"

Renata brought a hand up to his mouth, quieting him down in a second. Her kind, tired eyes told him she'd already made a decision. "I think I know where I need to go."

The Doctor was puzzled with her. Where could she want to go that wasn't the TARDIS? It hurt just to imagine her not around.

She seemed to have read his mind, or at least part of it anyways. She drew her hand away from his mouth and smiled rather sadly. "You'll be fine. You'll have someone back." Her eyes flickered past him so he followed it to Rose.

He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

~ 0 ~

Landing back on Earth - that'd been brought back to its rightful spot - felt like a dream for the humans. Sarah Jane couldn't wait and ran out first. She laughed at such normality of the park they were in. It didn't even look like there'd been a massive Dalek invasion 10 minutes ago.

The Doctor came peeking out a few seconds later, but not without Gabby shoving him to the side afterwards.

"We're back on Earth! We're back!" she cheered excitedly. Sarah Jane and the Doctor shared a small laugh as the girl spun around.

"Looks like your doing a lot better," the Doctor noted with a relieved smile.

Gabby was about to nod when a spree of purple butterflies sprang from the top of her head. It made her freeze mid-spin with wide eyes.

Once more, there was a small laughter between the two on-lookers.

"We'll need to work on that," the Doctor said.

Gabby decided to start laying low for now and returned to them. "I...did not mean to do that."

"I still don't understand that," Sarah Jane chuckled behind a hand. "But I imagine this will not be the last time we see each other." She glanced at the Doctor with a biggened smile. "You know... you act like such a lonely man. But look at you! You've got the biggest family on Earth! And you even managed to find yourself another Time Lord - _lady_. I'm so happy for you." She hugged him and missed the sad smile on the Doctor's face. "Gotta go now!" she pulled away with new excitement. "He's only fourteen! It's a long story. And thank you!"

"I like her," Gabby announced when Sarah Jane ran off.

"Yeah…"

Gabby brought a hand to her chest suddenly, making a face like something was bothering her. When the Doctor noticed it, she explained, "It's really weird. I go back and forth with this. One moment I'm okay and then the next I feel so _heavy_ , like-like I just _have_ to release, you know?"

"Like Renata," the Doctor nodded quietly. He presumed it was the same situation as Renata, only Gabby's energy amount was less than what Renata had.

"I-I should go see how she's doing," Gabby said after she'd managed to get through her small moment. She walked into the TARDIS at the same time both Mickey and Jack emerged.

"Ren, you should sit," Martha was in the middle of saying when Gabby joined them.

"I'm not a baby, Martha Jones. I'm quite older than you," Renata spoke ever-so-calmly and - Gabby had no idea _how_ in such a bad moment - gracefully too. Renata had finally gotten up from her chair and was attempting to walk a couple steps.

Martha rolled her eyes and followed after Renata, arms ready to catch her in case she fell. "You just expelled some weird butterfly powers."

"Time Vortex, thank you very much," Renata turned around slowly to face Martha.

"How did that even happen?"

"A series of events, I'm afraid. We visited an art gallery that used a Quantum Sphere for Block Transfer Computation and infected me and Gabby."

Martha blinked and quickly looked at Gabby, but the girl raised her hands. "I didn't get the worst," she said and Martha sighed. That much she could tell.

"I was further infected - contaminated - by a different alien race, the Osirans," Renata went on. "And my body just never healed."

"And she wouldn't let the Doctor keep running tests on her," Donna came over with a long gaze on Renata.

"Surprise, surprise," Martha folded her arms and gave her best friend a disapproving look.

"Oh don't start, none of you," Renata pointed a finger at each and every one of them. "I don't want to hear it."

"Ren, will you be okay?" Martha's question did make Renata stop just as she was continuing to walk. "Like...like will you…?"

Renata turned back again and softened at Martha's concern. "I don't know," Renata admitted. She didn't want to lie to Martha. "But I need to go somewhere to figure out what I want."

Martha's stomach churned because , knowing Renata, knowing what had just happened, there was no telling what Renata would 'want'. Without saying a word, she walked up to Renata and hugged her really tight. She didn't say it but Renata knew. Just in case...Martha wanted to say goodbye.

"I'm sorry for how we got to know each other," Martha pulled away with a teary face. "I'm sorry I read your diary-"

"-forget about it," Renata nodded. "I burned that thing a long time ago. You were right. I couldn't live in the past. Elek is gone…" she exhaled a shaky breath, "The Assessor is gone, my family...everyone's gone. Maybe living in the past is the reason why I've never been happy." It was why she would rather end things now then keep living like that. She just didn't know how to do either.

"I know you can be happy," Martha smiled her best one. "You have to want it." And that was the thing: Renata didn't know what she wanted.

"See you around, Martha," Renata smiled warmly.

"...yeah," Martha knew that was still up in the air. Still, there was nothing left to do but leave.

"Martha," Renata called just as the woman reached the door, "If you could do one thing for me...get rid of that Osterhagen key, please? I understand why the humans would create something like but it would just break the Doctor's hearts if it continued to exist. Do that for him, will you?"

Martha knew that by extension, she'd be doing Renata her last wish too. "Of course," she promised and walked out.

"Uh, Renata?" Rose gently called to the Time Lady after Martha left.

Renata saw the woman was a bit feeble, almost afraid. Still, Renata felt like whatever Rose was going to say, it would be better if the Doctor was there too. She had a hunch about what it was and Renata didn't want Rose to have to repeat herself.

"Let's just wait a moment, okay?"

Rose nodded but she was biting her lower lip nervously. She needed to get something off her chest now.

~0~

**Bad Wolf Bay.**

The next stop for the TARDIS was a breezy, cloudy beach.

Jackie was disgusted of the place as soon as she recognized it. "Ugh, fat lot of good this is! Back of beyond, bloody Norway! I'm gonna have to phone your father. He's on the nursery run."

"You have a baby?" Gabby had come out after her and the metacrisis Doctor.

Jackie nodded proudly. "Had a baby boy!"

"Ah, brilliant! What did you call him?" the metacrisis Doctor asked.

"Doctor."

That made the man stop in his Sandy tracks. "...really?"

"No, you plum. He's called Tony!"

Gabby laughed while the Doctor frowned. Jackie Tyler was too funny!

As soon as Rose stepped into the familiar beach, she was puzzled. She didn't understand what she was doing there again. "Hold on, this is the parallel universe, right?" she asked just as the rest followed out of the TARDIS.

"You're back home," the original Doctor said.

"And the walls of the world are closing again...now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimension retroclosure." Donna smiled proudly of herself. "See, I really get that stuff now."

Rose didn't understand - well, she might. Her teary eyes flickered between the Doctor and Renata. "Is this my punishment? For letting the Daleks through the cracks?"

"Of course not," Renata said softly. She was honestly surprised just like Rose. She didn't think the Doctor would actually choose to bring Rose back to her own world, but once Renata figured out the extent of his plans...she couldn't say that she disagreed. "And I'm sorry I put that idea into your head. This was not your fault, Rose. You had a good heart and the Daleks took advantage of that. This is not a punishment."

"Never," the Doctor agreed. "I would never do that to you.

"But you still want me to stay here! After all that time I spent trying to find you! I'm not going back now!" Rose was in full blown tears that were a mix of frustration and confusion.

The Doctor stepped towards her, hoping to catch her down so she could truly listen to what he needed from her. She always listened, after all. She was very good at that. And it did him so well. That's why only she could do what he needed her to do. "But you've got to. Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him." Offence slipped out of the metacrisis Doctor as soon as the gazes turned on him. "He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

"You made me!"

"Exactly, you were born in battle - full of blood and anger and revenge." The original Doctor turned his attention back to Rose. "Remind you of someone?" Rose would not entertain that answer.

"Yeah, her!" the metacrisis Doctor spat and pointed at Renata. The Time Lady was shocked but, after a few seconds she realized he was absolutely right.

"No, leave her alone!" the original Doctor snapped so aggressively that, without his notice, Rose came to her own conclusions.

"He's right," Renata put a hand on the Doctor's arm, calming him. "I murdered Daleks and I would've nearly had Davros if you hadn't stopped me." She swallowed hard and withdrew her hand from his arm. "I always said I was a terrible person. This just solidifies it."

"Absolutely not," the original Doctor insisted that they were both wrong. "You were on your own for 56 years after the Time War. You never got the chance to heal...not like I had someone." He looked at Rose with a new sense of urgent plead. The blonde had cleaned up her tears but others were still pooling in her eyes. "She and him are me when we first met and you, Rose, made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

"And you for her," Rose whispered, eyes catching Renata's shameful lowering gaze. She could understand that, but it didn't mean she was happy about it, not when she realized the truth. It was the truth she'd been blinding herself to ever since she got to their world. The gentle touches, the ferocity to protect each other, the whispers between them…

"You love her," she whispered, crestfallen.

Both the Doctor and Renata froze. They wouldn't look at each other but neither could say that their hearts hadn't stopped for a second.

"Rose, I need you to do this for me," the Doctor said, going on as if nothing had been said. "You're the only one I trust."

Rose wasn't shaking her head, but she couldn't nod either. "He's not you."

"He needs you. That's very me."

"If I may?" Donna cleared her throat and raised a finger. "He's trying to give you something as well. Because you're right, these two-" she spared the Doctor and Renata a soft smile, "-have something complicated but something nonetheless, whether they want to admit or not." The pair's flushed faces confirmed each of Donna's words. "But him…" Donna nodded over to the metacrisis Doctor, "He's from before - the hand? - he's from your time."

Rose side-glanced the metacrisis Doctor, looking him over to see if Donna was telling the truth.

"I look like him and I think like him... same memories, same thoughts, same everything," the metacrisis Doctor stepped towards her. "All from our time together. The only difference is that I've only got one heart."

Rose seemed to stumble back a few steps. "Which means?"

"I'm part Human. Specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life...Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'll grow- grow old at the same time as me?"

"Together."

Rose placed a hand to his chest to confirm what he was saying. _One heart._

She glanced back at Renata and the Doctor.

"One of us should be happy," Renata smiled lightly, albeit a bit sad herself.

The TARDIS made an odd noise, pulling everyone's attention for a moment. Time was running out.

"We've gotta go. This reality's sealing itself off," the Doctor said. Renata nodded in agreement. "Forever."

"But it's still not right," Rose wanted to insist but there was something inside her telling her that this was already over. It just hurt to accept it.

"I think we should say one more thing," Renata stopped the Doctor beside her from turning away. "Thank you. Doctor, did you ever say that to her? Because she did a wonder on you."

The Doctor couldn't help playfully roll her eyes, even Rose was smiling just a tiny bit.

Renata drew in another shaky breath. "You have a healing ability, Rose, that no one else has. I would've liked that for me after I got out of the Time War. He's right," she crossed gazes with the metacrisis Doctor, "I'm just as bad. And having both of us in the same world will do no one any good. But if he stays here, you can help him. And Rose, you can be _happy_. Happy...something not everyone can be. Take this opportunity and be happy."

Rose stared at Renata for what felt like the longest minute for the latter. She had tilted her head, truly studying the Time Lady. "You're not bad. You're just hurting." And as she said those words she realized that the two were right. She was like the Doctor and if that was true then so was the metacrisis Doctor. "And you need help…" she drew in a breath, letting reality finally come to them. "I understand. But I just...I just have to know one thing, just one. When I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life... what was the last thing you said to me?"

The Doctor gave a small nod, but it was too hard to go back to that time full of pain. He didn't want to add on more, more heartbreak. "I think...I can let him answer that. After all, it was my answer too."

Renata tried turning for the TARDIS, but in doing so she nearly fell. The Doctor grabbed her by the waist and decided it was best to keep a hold around her. And he concluded that he would much rather hold her right now, making sure that she was okay. Still, he wanted to look back one more time at Rose for goodbyes. She seemed to know his intentions and gave a nod.

"Goodbye," she managed to say through tears.

"Goodbye," he returned. He gently pulled Renata towards the TARDIS and do Donna brought Gabby along as well.

Rose despondently watched the TARDIS disappear, that is...until she felt the metacrisis Doctor slip his hand through hers. He watched her with such fondness that, whether or not she wanted to, a smile worked its way across her face. She couldn't say that all was lost this time.

~0~

"There you go," the Doctor brought Renata straight for the Captain's chair again while Donna piloted the TARDIS (her skills were mighty better as well, it appeared). "Let's try to sit for a while, okay?"

"No," she said, already attempting to get back up. "I want to...be there…"she purposely looked past him to Donna.

He became silent. He knew what she meant.

"You know," Donna was saying to Gabby, "I thought we could try the planet Felspoon. After Renata is better of course. Just 'cos. What a good name, 'Felspoon', you know? Apparently it's got mountains that sway in the breeze. Mountains that move. Can you imagine?"

Gabby shook her head. "Nope! But I'd love to see! Actually, I'd like to stop by and see my family first. See how they're doing after all this.

"Oh yeah! Sure! Course we can do that!" Donna chuckled and moved the controls to get them to New York. "You know, Doctor, you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just try and hotbind in the fragment links and superseding the binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary..."

Gabby blinked in shock at the sudden repetition. She looked quickly to the Doctor and Renata but neither of them seemed that surprised, or worried. In fact, it almost seemed like they _knew_. But knew what?

"Binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary-" Donna sucked in a huge breath to stop herself. "I'm fine!" she laughed it off. "Nah, never-mind Felspoon. You know who I'd like to meet? Charlie Chaplin. I've heard he's great, Charlie Chaplin. Shall we do that? Shall we go and see Charlie Chaplin?" she grabbed the console phone, going fast for some reason. "Shall we? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester, Charlie Brown. No, he's fiction, friction, fiction, fixen, mixen, rixten, brixton-" she doubled over in pain and so the Doctor hurried to help her.

"What's happening?" Gabby stared at Donna, full of concern. Donna was holding her head like something was throbbing.

"Donna, do you know what's happening?" Renata gently called. She was moving to stand up and since there was no point in arguing, Gabby decided to help her.

Donna looked at Renata then the Doctor, knowing exactly what they meant but she just didn't want to admit it.

"There's never been a Human-Time Lord metacrisis before now. And you know why," the Doctor hated to see Donna close to tears, especially when she'd been so ecstatic minutes ago.

"Because there can't be," Donna barely managed to say the words without crying. She gently moved away from the Doctor's hold, as if doing that made it not real. "I want to stay…"

Gabby's eyes widened. Why would Donna say something like that? Why wouldn't she able to stay?

"Donna, look at me," the Doctor said but she wouldn't. "Donna, look at me."

Donna finally looked at him but it was with a certain defiance in her eyes. "I was gonna be with you... forever."

"I know…"

"The rest of my life...travelling... in the TARDIS. The Doctor-Donna. With Renata, and Gabby…"

"Donna," Renata moved towards them with Gabby's help but the moment Donna realized what would come next she backtracked in horror.

"No. Oh, my God! I can't go back! Don't make me go back!"

Gabby blinked away tears at how terrified Donna was. She didn't understand a lot but she did know that Donna was nearing the end of her life in the TARDIS.

"Doctor... please. Please, don't make me go back!" Donna resorted to begging. She couldn't leave everything behind to be that simple, non-important Donna again.

The Doctor neared her whether she wanted him or not. "Donna. Oh, Donna Noble. I am so, so sorry. But we had the best of times. The best."

"No! No!"

"Donna, I'm sorry but thank you," Renata took her turn, feeling tears in her eyes as well. "Thank you so much."

"Donna I'm sorry, I'm…" Gabby couldn't put her words together, but she was sure that Donna knew what she wanted to say. She knew what they all wanted to say: _goodbye._

No one was listening to her!

"I am entitled to my choice!" she cried.

"Donna if we don't you'll die!" the Doctor almost snapped. "And I have lost too many people to add you to the list. The world cannot live without Donna Noble. But I promise you, I swear, that things will not be the same. You will not forget that confidence. You will know your worth. Goodbye."

"No. No, please! Please! No, NO! No!" Donna's pleads were silenced the moment the Doctor put his fingers against her temples. Everything she lived went into rewind, all the way until the first moment she met the Doctor…

And it all disappeared.

~0~

With tears, the group brought Donna back home for the final time. They'd placed her in her room then went into the living room to explain to Wilf and Sylvia what happened to Donna.

"She took my mind into her own head. But that's a Time Lord consciousness," the Doctor was explaining. "All that knowledge - it was killing her."

"But she'll get better, now?" Wilf asked hopefully. He was relieved to see both the Doctor and Renata nod together.

"I had to wipe her mind, completely. Every trace of us or the TARDIS... everything we did together, anywhere we went... had to go," the Doctor said grimly.

"All those wonderful things she did…"

"I know. But that version of Donna is dead. Because if she remembers, just for a second, she'll burn up. You can never tell her. You can't mention us, or any of it... for the rest of her life."

Sylvia found it impossible. "But the whole world's talking about it. We traveled across space!"

"It'll just be a story. One of those Donna Noble stories, where she missed it all again," the Doctor managed to smile with nostalgia. Donna Noble, missing a story, would be the theme of her life.

"But she was better with you," Wild tried to argue when Sylvia cut in.

"Don't say that-"

"No, she was!"

"You should be proud of her, though," Renata spoke for the first time since arriving. Both Wilf and Sylvia had noticed the woman's pale complexion. "There are worlds out there, safe in the sky, because of _her_. There are people living in the light, singing songs of Donna Noble, a thousand million light-years away…and they will never forget her. While she can never remember." It wasn't the ending that Donna deserved at all. Just thinking about it brought fresh new tears to her eyes.

"And for one moment... one shining moment... she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe," the Doctor sighed lightly.

"She still is," Sylvia responded curtly. "She's my daughter."

"Well then maybe you should tell her that once in a while," Gabby quipped. She knew first-hand what it was like feeling worthless in the eyes of your family. She'd worked endlessly at her parent's restaurant and the laundromat, letting life slip away. But when her parents finally told her to do what she always wanted to do, just like she always dreamed of, it brought an indescribable feeling. Everyone needed that, to know they were worth something

Sylvia lowered her gaze and didn't say more. A few seconds later, they heard Donna coming down the stairs. The trio of travelers stiffened when she came in, completely oblivious to their presence.

"I was asleep, on my bed, in my clothes, like a flippin' kid!" she exclaimed with her phone in hand. "What did you let me do that for?!" It hurt more when she spared them the tiniest glances. They were no longer important to her. "Don't mind me. Donna."

"John Smith," the Doctor rose from the couch, prompting Renata and Gabby to do the same.

"Ren," Renata left it short just in case.

"Fernanda," Gabby said and earned herself a brief glance from Renata and the Doctor. Did she forget to mention to them that she had a middle name?

Donna shook each of their hands but almost out of sheer politeness.

"They were just leaving," Sylvia said, eyeing them with a 'you better do it' look.

"My phone's gone mad! Thirty-two texts, Veena's gone barmy, she's saying planets in the sky - _what_ have I missed now?" Donna shouted and turned to leave, but not without a vague "Nice to meet you".

"Like I said, you should go," Sylvia sternly told the trio.

"We will," Renata stumbled to walk up to the woman and she swatted the Doctor's and Gabby's helping hands. "But you mark my words: you better _not_ undo the confidence Donna has built up. The Doctor made sure to leave that part of her intact. Because Donna at least deserved that. She may not be able to see us but we _will_ be keeping an eye on this house, on Donna and if I find out that you are belittling her again I will come straight for _you_!" Golden flames briefly sprouted from her body, finishing the job of terrifying Sylvia.

The Doctor gingerly brought her back beside him, but he silently applauded Renata. A good scare oughta put Sylvia in her place.

~0~

The trio found that it'd began to rain outside, coming along with thunder to finish the grim night.

"Ah... you'll have quite a bit of this. Atmospheric disturbance. Still, it'll pass," the Doctor explained to Wilf who'd accompanied them to the doorstep. "Everything does…" he turned to Wilf and shook a hand with him. "Bye then, Wilfred."

"Goodbye," Renata went next then Gabby.

"I'll watch out for you," Wilf promised but ended up worrying the Doctor.

"You can't ever tell her!"

"No, no, no. But every night, Doctor... when it gets dark... and the stars come out... I'll look up. On her behalf. I'll look up at the sky and think of you all."

The Doctor was touched of such a thing. "Thank you." He brought Renata down the front porch step and walked slowly with her, despite it being pouring.

Gabby took the lead with a sprint and opened the TARDIS doors for them. The pair came in eventually, now soaking wet. Gabby watched them slowly make it to the Captain's chair and she followed them but there was something she wanted to say that she didn't know how to word well.

She didn't know when it was appropriate to talk after... everything. Donna's forced departure was sure to be something that no one would be getting over soon. Donna had been a part of their small space family. Plus, Donna had been like a confidant for Gabby about all their space travels and what that did to them sometimes. Gabby realized that now there would be no other human - someone like her - to remember those memories. Donna had come first to the TARDIS but it seemed like Gabby would be the one to stay until the end.

"Um, Doctor? Renata?" she began with a soft call. The Doctor had pulled the TARDIS into the Vortex, making the box give a gentle shake. "I, uh, I... I'd really like to see my family. Just for a bit…"

"-of course, Gabby," Renata smiled at the girl. It was natural for her to want to see her family after what happened.

"If you want to stay for a while, that'd be fine too," the Doctor added.

"I don't want to stop!" Gabby exclaimed, wanting to leave that loud and clear. "I don't want to stop anytime soon! I just...I'd like to explain to them what it is I'm really doing. I want to be honest with them."

"Sounds good," Renata smiled but barely contained a groan. Her hand moved to her stomach.

Gabby watched sadly as the Doctor hurried to Renata's side. "Are you going to be okay, Renata?" she asked, sighing.

"Well, no regeneration energy right now so...not dying...for now," Renata scrunched her face. "I don't really know if I'll make it out of the woods, as you humans say. But I think I know where I have to go." She looked specifically at the Doctor for that bit, knowing that it was something he'd been trying to avoid ever since she brought it up earlier. "And I have to stay there for a while."

~0~

Zhe's gallery remained exactly the same as when the travelers first left it. No one was allowed up in her private moon but this time but this time, Zhe herself was down in the gallery when the travelers arrived. She came to greet them as soon as someone alerted her of the wheezing box. However, she knew instantly that something had happened for the Doctor was grim as he and Gabby helped Renata walk out of the blue box.

"What has happened?" she inquired as soon as they were face to face.

"Long story, could I please get a chair?" Renata smiled as politely as ever despite the pain that was rippling through her.

Once Zhe brought them into her office, where Renata could rest on a whole couch to herself, the Doctor began to explain everything. He started with the contamination that began the last time they visited the gallery, and how Renata was further infected with foreign nanonites from Dorothy Bell and the Osirans, then finished it with the Vortex Butterfly bit. He threw in Gabby's own manifested powers.

To say Zhe was in shock would be an understatement, but she wouldn't let that derail her from helping in any way that she could. "I'm sorry my Quantum Sphere did that to you - to both of you," she looked between Renata and Gabby. "I-I thought they would've just faded away."

"It's not your fault," Gabby said. "If anything, it's on me. If I hadn't let your apprentice touch me then neither me nor Renata would've been infected in the first place."

"Hey - no!" Renata was quick to interject. "No one is to blame, except myself. Let's be honest, this is just my punishment for the things I've done in the past. But Zhe, the reason I'm here is because I need to ask for a favor."

Zhe nodded, already agreeing no matter what. "Anything."

"I don't know why but...I feel like this place is the only place where I can be at peace for a while. I need to expel more of this energy, learn to control if I'm not going to die. Your art gallery - your private moon - there's no danger there if I unexpectedly combust. Can I stay, please?"

Zhe's eyes flickered to the Doctor and took note of the deep pain on the man's face. He wasn't at all for this idea but he was doing it for Renata because _she_ wanted it. "Of course, Renata. You are as welcomed here as the Doctor is. You can stay for as long as you need to."

"Thank you," Renata nodded. She glanced at the Doctor as well and figured they might as well get it over with. "Can I just speak to the Doctor alone for a moment?"

"Yes, of course," Zhe nodded. She gestured for Gabby to follow her out. "We'll be outside if you need anything."

"Thank you," Renata watched them leave and when they were gone she finally let herself sigh as deep as an ocean was. She was so tired and if she didn't get to close her eyes in the next five minutes perhaps death would come for her then.

"Renata, you don't have to leave," the Doctor approached her on the couch. "If it's because of what happened before all the Daleks...I would never make you leave."

"It's not just that, Doctor," Renata shifted a bit to better face him. "I meant what I said about this energy thing. If I'm not going to die anytime soon, then I need to learn how to control this and can you imagine if I let it all out inside the TARDIS? All that extra vortex energy will not be good. And you know that, don't you?" the Doctor didn't say anything but his lowered gaze answered for him. "Besides, can you honestly look at me and not feel just a tad of anger for what I did?"

As if to test her theory, he gazed up and looked into her eyes. He wanted to say 'of course not' so badly, but then he remembered her lies...and her so many lies. He didn't want her to leave, nor did he want anything to happen to her, but he _was_ a bit upset too. He was rightfully upset.

Renata smiled so warmly at him, just like Zuriah would. When she reached to touch his face, the Doctor instantly felt the same warmth he used to feel back in their early days. It finally made sense to him why she was so familiar to him, why he so easily fell for her as John Smith. It was why it was incredibly easy to make a choice between her and Rose.

"I love you, Gala," the words just slipped from his mouth before he could even think of it. There was a flutter of Renata's hearts when she heard her true name come from his lips. It'd been one of the most sacred rules they had broken by learning each other's names without being married. But she had loved the way her name sounded on his lips, even now the feelings stayed the same with the same level of love. "Meeting you all those centuries ago was the best thing that happened to me."

"Even though it led to so much heartbreak?" she tilted her head, fresh tears coming to her eyes.

"I would rather go through all that than to have never met you." He took her hand off his face and held it between his two hands. He gave her palm a soft kiss then looked at her again, needing her to understand that he was being 100% honest with her. Yes, he could trade that all in and spare himself the pain he felt losing her and learning that she had been travelling with him all this time. All this he would take just to see her again. _That_ was what Martha had been trying to get him to understand before all the mess happened. "Getting the community service was the beginning of everything. I met the sweetest, kindest girl on that first day. It was the beginning of my greatest adventure - my riskiest - and it was the end of any hope of a life without her. She yelled a lot-" Renata chuckled with her blushing cheeks, "-but she had the best hearts on Gallifrey. Renata, you have a golden soul."

"I don't think I do," Renata's smile became a sad one. "I've done very bad stuff."

"So have I."

"But there's no darkness inside of you. You have always been a golden soul and I don't think that's ever going to change. So please listen to me when I say that despite everything that's happened, I don't want to lose you a third time." The Doctor took a seat next to her, never letting go of her hand. "I lost you once when you said no to running away, and then I lost you again after the Time War. I am not interested in losing you this time around."

"You would really want to...to _be_ with me?" Renata blinked fairly fast out of genuine surprise but also because of the tears that wanted to stroll down from her eyes.

"My sweet Gala, of course. But I know that you're not ready, and perhaps neither am I just yet, so you take your time here. Rest, train, relax. And I will work hard to try to find a cure or something to help you. I'll come around every day to make sure you're okay." He'd much rather stay with her on the planet but he knew well that she wanted to be alone. "And when time passes, maybe you and I...we could, you know…" he trailed off with high hopes that she would nod her head at him.

She chuckled. "I'd...I'd like that." Martha's first words to her, after discovering who Renata truly was, came back to her mind. It was time to move on from her husband. "I mean, to be honest, I don't really know how to...be happy, in a sense. But maybe I can learn with you."

A great big grin came to the Doctor's face. He kissed her hand again then pulled her into a tight hug. Renata welcomed it fast and hugged him as tight as possible.

"Take care of Gabriella for me, okay?" she mumbled after a moment. "I don't want anything to happen to her, nothing like Donna."

The Doctor agreed when he drew away from her. "Nothing. I'll be over-protective to the point she'll want to vent to you about me. But I swear that no one will touch a hair on her head."

"I trust you," Renata smiled.

"Well, alright then…" he awkwardly looked around once he realized the time to go was now. "I'll, um...be on my way, then." Renata nodded. "Here." He pulled out Martha's cellphone from his inside pocket. "I'll answer anytime you need me, I promise." He stood up from the couch and backtracked to the door. "I'll be back, Renata."

"I know," she nodded. "And I'll...be here, working on myself." The Doctor smiled one more time before heading out and when he did, Renata once again had to exhale like she'd been holding in her breath.

A few seconds later, Zhe came in. "The Doctor and Gabby are on their way out."

"Yes, I know," Renata wearily blinked.

Zhe came around the couch and bent down in front of her. "Can I offer you something?"

"Some advice wouldn't be bad."

"Well, alright then. What do you need advice for?"

Renata pursed her lips together and let herself think about everything in her lives that she'd regretted, the unhappiness that came with it - the _pain_ \- and she turned her head to the side. "What do you do when you love someone so much but...you just don't know how to be happy?" Zhe blinked in confusion. "Why is that even though I have a wonderful man waiting for me, I still want to...die?"

Zhe went into shock and after a few minutes of processing, she became worried.

"I want to die," Renata's whisper was the last noise to be made in the room for a good while.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yes, yes, I am content with this chapter. The Vortex Butterfly has come to life and she's here to stay...or so it appears. We'll be learning more about it as the stories move along, as well as what Gabby becomes too. I just didn't want to pack everything into one 1 chapter. But for now, Renata's health is just spiraling from here. It appears she's losing the battle...can the Doctor help her? And yes, Gabby is sticking around past Donna *sniff, sniff. It breaks my heart writing her dealing with Donna's departure.

And we also got to see the Doctor's pov on that 'beginning of everything' quote we talked about in an earlier chapter. I just truly love writing these bits in for them.

**P. S:** I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	28. Falling Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time keeps running and nothing gets better. The Doctor does what he can while Renata continues to fight against herself. Gabby simply tries to hold onto all the pieces left of their family but the last thing she thought would happen was to meet an old face...

It all happened too fast.

One moment, the Doctor was leading Gabby down a nice looking alien city because it could potentially have something to help ease Renata's latest pain and then the next they're running for their lives. Of course, it wasn't _their_ fault. The Doctor, though lacking attention most of the time, never joked when it came to Renata's health. Months had passed by for them (only from their end) and most of their trips had consisted of finding potential cures for Renata and other remedies to ease her other minor chronic issues. Very seldom did they make trips for leisure - those were only done either accidentally or because Renata quite literally forced them to take one.

Right now was neither or. And it was all River Song's fault.

"I thought you said it would be easy and quick!" The Doctor shot an accusing glance at River who was running right beside him, more than gleefully too.

She laughed. She _actually_ laughed. "Where would be the fun in that, sweetie!?"

Gabby groaned behind them. "They're trying to kill us!"

A mob was chasing them out of the city, literally. They had the traditional pitchforks in the air, only these pitchforks actually fired at them as if they were guns. It didn't seem to worry River though. She seemed more like she welcomed it.

"Well, run faster!" was her advice and was given with a scoff.

Gabby shot a glare at the woman's back. This was a younger River Song - _clearly_ since the last one they saw had died - and Gabby honestly thought that this time things would be a little different. She didn't really get to talk to the last River in the Library and she thought that maybe the coldness between them wouldn't be a problem this time around. Maybe the last River just had an argument or something with another version of them, but no. This River made it very clear that she did not like Gabby, nor Renata for that matter. She kept taking jabs at Renata like there was no tomorrow.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" The Doctor shoved River ahead of them so he could reach back and pull Gabby forwards too. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Hard to do when the TARDIS is on the other side of the city!" Gabby reminded him.

"River's vortex manipulator can help out with that! River!"

"I can't leave without getting the gemstone first!"

"We're going to die!" Gabby cried and once again received a scoff in return.

"Oh please, it's just a bit of a run! God, you're not _that_ boring, are you!?"

Gabby glanced at the Doctor with angry eyes, her expression telling him that this is the type of behavior she was talking about before the mob started. She'd expressed how rude River was to her even when nothing was done to provoke her. The Doctor wouldn't say it out loud but he agreed. He just couldn't understand what was the animosity that River held towards Gabby. He'd like to fix it, really, because if they were going to keep meeting her...it would be nicer if everyone got along.

"River, we're going to get killed!" He told her.

"No, sweetie, we're not! C'mon!" River reached for his arm - and in the process Gabby since he was still holding onto her - and activated her manipulator. In a flash, they had disappeared and reappeared in a secluded part of a jungle. They each fell to the ground from their running stance but they were glad to see that they had no more mob chasing them. River was the first to stand and with a grin as wide as her face could hold. "Told you," she dusted herself then reached for the Doctor's hand, without asking him, and pulled him up. She had pulled a little too hard and had his body crash into hers. "Woah there, soldier, not the time!"

Gabby had just sat upright when she caught the smirk on River's face.

"Uh, well, not really..." the Doctor quickly untangled himself from her grip and stepped back. He remembered Gabby when she cleared her throat. He spun around and helped her stand up.

"Doctor, you said we'd be getting something for Renata," she sighed once she was standing. "You said we'd visit her today."

"Of course," he said, his tone indicating that this was an obvious matter. How could he forget Renata? Never could he do that.

"Where is the little Time Lady anyways?" River muttered as she toddled with her manipulator. "Usually she'd be shrieking about how improper this type of stuff is and whatnot." She rolled her eyes. "Buzzkill that one."

"Hey, back off," barked Gabby. "She's...she's not feeling well, alright?"

River stopped at once, eyes flickering up to the Doctor specifically. "What do you mean?" There were only certain times where she was fortunate to find the Doctor traveling without Renata. "Where is she?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. He didn't really like talking about Renata's current state but he felt like this was something River would end up jotting down in that TARDIS book of hers. "She's...she's ill. She's very ill and...she can't travel in the TARDIS right now."

Gabby expected River to be somewhat worried about the news but she took it with a hum. In fact, a seconds later Gabby watched as River's lips curled into a big smile. It was satisfaction and it was _infuriating_. Gabby was outraged and she knew, from that moment on, that any opportunity of her having a decent relationship with River was over.

"Well, she can't always be around, right?" River clapped her hands together and grinned. "But I'm glad that _you're_ around, Doctor. I really need you to help me find the Silva gemstone. I'm being paid to retrieve it."

"You're asking now that we've been chased off because of you?" Gabby was sure that wasn't the correct order of doing things.

River waved her off, not even looking at her. Her eyes were glued on the Doctor. "Please sweetie, I'm not stealing anything. It's a fair transaction here. What, would your precious Renata say 'don't help her'?"

"Of course not..." the Doctor said slowly, trying to figure out why River would even say something like that. Renata would never deny help to anyone, at least not anymore...because apparently he'd helped her change. That still brought a blossom of warmth to his chest each time he remembered her saying it. "We're just on a schedule here. We haven't seen Renata in a while. We don't want to waste time."

"And _I_ waste time?" River scowled.

"I don't really know you that well," the Doctor honestly admitted. "I've only met you once before."

River blinked. It seemed like she was genuinely surprised to hear about it. "So...so this is all practically new to you? To both of you?" She finally gave Gabby the time of the day with a two-second glance.

"Yes," Gabby nodded. "And the last time we met you weren't exactly nice to me, nor Renata."

"Can you blame me?" River was quick to retort. "Actually, you do blame me."

"Well you're not exactly leaving a good impression right now."

River glared. Gabby returned the favor. The Doctor had no idea what to do with them both. He was sure that Renata would handle this better. She always knew what to do. He started to wonder how she was doing on her own. For him it had been about three months since he last saw her and it was only because he was constantly looking for a way to help stabilize her condition. For her, he hoped it would only be a few weeks at the most. He hoped she was at least comfortable.

~ 0 ~

A golden locket laid on a bed stand, untouched for several months. Renata could no longer have it on like a true widower. She'd been kidding herself for a year now and only a short time ago did she truly accept that. Still, each day when she woke up, she would gaze at it for a few minutes to remember him. He still deserved that, to be remembered.

Renata exhaled deeply before sitting upright in her bed. Her eyes gazed over her room with no emotion. It was simple, organized and anything else she would want. She tossed the covers to the side and got up. She found clothes fast since she grabbed the first thing she saw in her closet. Each day was the same. She would wake up, reminisce about her family, take a moment for herself and accept that she'd woken up to a new day again. She didn't know what else to do.

Zhe's private gallery was, in simple terms, amazing. It was beautiful and elegant and _quiet._ The only noises Renata occasionally heard was Zhe herself when she was working on a new art piece or those rare times where she had people over. Most of the time, though, it was just so quiet. It was what the old her, the one who lived in 1913 would want...but now she wasn't so sure.

It was perhaps ridiculous but she missed the Doctor even though he had just stopped by last week. He and Gabby had come by with a new remedy for her chest pain she was having lately. They spent the entire day with her and while it was perhaps the most boring days for someone who couldn't stay still - otherwise known as the Doctor - she had enjoyed it more than anything. It was those few moments in her life as of late where she didn't think about dying. She laughed, though short, genuinely and craved to see things...with the Doctor. It left her more than confused with what she wanted. What _did_ she want? Did she want things to finally end and perhaps find peace in the darkness? Or would she allow herself a chance to live - truly, properly live - with the Doctor?

She didn't know. What she did know was that right now, she would really like to see him again.

"Renata, would you like something to eat?" Zhe asked when the Time Lady descended from a flight of stairs leading to the entrance of the entire gallery.

"No thanks," Renata hardly ate nowadays and that worried Zhe. Time Lord's, though very different from other species, still had to eat sometimes. This is the type of stuff that Zhe would like to report back to the Doctor, but she learned very quickly how Renata operated and her main thing right now was to keep the Doctor aloof of her declining health.

"As you sure?" Zhe asked again while Renata headed for the entrance doors. "We could make something you like?"

"No, I'm not hungry," Renata shook her head. "I'd much rather just take a walk. I feel there might be some energy combust in a few."

"In that case, let me come with you," Zhe scurried after the Time Lady. If Renata wanted to refuse, she didn't have the time. Zhe was beside her the moment she'd stepped out of the building.

Renata had taken a liking to the garden behind the penthouse. It was lined with several of Zhe's art pieces. She smiled only lightly when she remembered the last time Gabby was around. Gabby decided to start her apprenticeship with Zhe now that Renata was staying long term on the planet. It was clear that the Block Transfer was now going to be a permanent part of her so it was only right that she learned how to use it in art like it was meant to. Gabby would spend days with Zhe and Renata then would spend a few days with the Doctor in the TARDIS that remained parked in the gallery. Gabby liked to joke that she was their daughter going back and forth between homes. It brought out a couple blushes from the Time Lords, which would then make Gabby want to joke more about it. But her apprenticeship had been useful in helping Gabby control her own powers. She was expelling her power in the form of the Block Form Computation, unlike Renata who was releasing flames of energy that occasionally found a butterfly shape. Renata didn't mind, though. As long as Gabby was able to keep a good hold around her powers, Renata didn't care what happened to herself.

"You miss her, don't you?" Zhe's question broke through Renata's silent thoughts. They'd been standing in front of a statue that Gabby had been working on lately. It had no defining shape but Gabby said it was intentional. She was still working on it.

"Yes," Renata nodded. "I miss her...and the Doctor...and Donna..."

Zhe lowered her head at the mention of the companion that was lost to them. "You should take joy that she lives, though."

"What happened to Donna was a terrible thing that should happen to no one."

"But the Doctor saved her, didn't he? He wiped her memories."

"Yes but was that truly 'saving her'?" Renata closed her eyes. She was suddenly back in the TARDIS, watching Donna beg for them not to take her memories away. "Just before taking her memories, Donna reminded us that it was _her_ choice. She was entitled to her own choice, entitled to keep her memories, but we didn't listen."

"How could you? If you hadn't done what you did, Donna would've died," Zhe pointed out. "But look at her now. The Doctor said she was living happily. She's even met some man."

"Yes but that's because we forced her into that life," Renata sighed and turned away fr Donna's statue. "Everyone's entitled to make their own choices. We made it for her. We didn't want her to die but...what if Donna preferred that than to live like a normal human again? Though it's sad, it was her choice to make. It wasn't ours. Everyone should be able to decide when they want to die."

She noticed that last bit had come out quieter. "So then...you still want to die?"

Renata didn't stop walking but she did slow down. Her gaze lowered to the green, almost blue, grass. "Perhaps. My thoughts aren't as clear as they used to be."

Zhe took that as a good sign. If she was confused then it meant there were more things she was thinking about now. "Well...I still don't quite understand why..."

"Well, let's face it, death might still happen with this energy swirling inside me," Renata wanted to remind. Each day Renata felt weaker than the previous day.

"But you could regenerate…"

"Maybe, maybe not. I honestly don't know but what I do know is that I'm not happy and no matter what I do I can't be happy. It's actually kind of frustrating."

Each time the Doctor would stop by, he'd bring her something from a recent trip he and Gabby would take. It was usually something nice, something that could pull a smile for Renata no matter how she felt that day. He would stay for hours on the planet, taking walks with Renata, letting her show him the works she'd been attempting with her powers. And each time, no matter what, they would all have dinner: she, him, Gabby and Zhe. They were lovely days that anyone should be happy with. But when all was said and done, and the Doctor and sometimes Gabby left, Renata was left with a pit in her stomach. It was a loop telling her that she shouldn't pretend, that she wasn't happy with anything. She was miserable, sour and bitter about her past lives.

This incarnation, this life...Renata was so _tired_ of it. She'd lived 56 years with it and she couldn't think of one thing that had truly made her happy. Even meeting the Doctor again wouldn't completely pull her out of her funk. She hadn't taken meeting him very well...

"Do you ever plan on sharing this with the Doctor and Gabby?" asked Zhe a couple minutes later.

"Probably not. I don't see the need to burden them." Renata was about to make a turn back for the gallery when she doubled over in pain. Zhe hurried to help her but Renata warned her with a finger to stay away. It was starting again.

Renata could feel her insides twisting again with the overwhelming amount of energy. The Time Vortex inside her seemed endless. It would start to twist her stomach then make it hurt so that she would have to double over. Then it would start to spread all around her body, from head to toe, until she felt it burning on her palms and behind her eyes. Until finally…

Flames sprung high into the air. Renata screamed in agony each time, perhaps stronger than the time before. It would last for seconds, sometimes minutes. Her legs buckled until she'd fall to the ground.

Zhe had to shield her eyes from the blinding light but once she was able to see again she would find the same thing: Renata on the floor, half unconscious. "Renata!" she ran towards the Time Lady and dropped beside her. She gently shook Renata a couple times before Renata gave a sign she was still alive.

"Sorry…" the Time Lady apologized in a raspy voice. Her loopy eyes blinked languidly.

"I've already told you that you don't need to apologize when that happens. How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm not dead. Don't know if that's good or bad honestly," Renata struggled to sit up until Zhe helped her. "But my stomach is in knots."

"There must be something we can give you to ease the pain," Zhe said as she helped Renata get back on her feet.

"The Doctor's already tried but it doesn't really work and I don't have the hearts to tell him that. He's always so hopeful. I'm sure that even right now, he's trying to find something new for me..."

"I just feel like we should be doing more to help you," Zhe began to make way towards the penthouse, helping Renata walk slowly along the cobblestone path. "I really thought trying to tap into the Block Transfer Computation. It helped Gabby a lot."

"Gabby's powers and mine are very different," Renata reminded. The cobblestone rocks were slightly bumpier than she remembered. "I have far too much of the Time Vortex inside of me. I-I don't think there's a way to control it."

"We have to find the right way to balance it within you," Zhe said, meaning to be optimistic about Renata's future. "I'm sure we can do it."

"It's not like the Doctor hasn't tried," Renata made another point. "We've thought about it, and I mean I truly helped, but we can't figure it out. The levels are too much. By all logic, I _should_ be dead by now."

"Then perhaps it isn't the right time to die yet," Zhe's encouraging smile managed to pull one back from Renata. "Maybe there's something better waiting for you on this side."

"Maybe..." Renata's mind wandered to the Doctor. She had no doubt that if she were to stick around then he would make it all the more better for her.

~ 0 ~

"So this gemstone we're looking for, what exactly is it for?" The Doctor asked once they were back on the road, or rather _walking_ on the road. River's manipulator needed more time to recharge before they could use it again. They were to walk through the jungle for the stone River needed.

River was right beside him on the narrow jungle path. Gabby was stuck behind them again and had a front row seat watching River make unnecessary swings of her hips which would cause some 'grazing' between her and the Doctor.

"Oh, just the crowned jewel of this civilization," River shrugged and reached a hand into her bag swung across her body. She pulled out a book with a bookmark sticking out. "I did my research on it and I'm pretty sure it's hidden behind a rock wall on a cave no one ever thought to look into."

"Why would you say that?" The Doctor slipped on his glasses just as River opened the book for him.

"Because the cave's supposed to have something inside that hasn't been seen in over a thousand years."

Gabby stopped walking. "What!? And you're just walking us straight into it!?"

"It's nonlethal," River shrugged. "At least for the professionals." Gabby heavily rolled her eyes. "You can stay back if you'd like."

"Oh you'd like that," Gabby mumbled and hurried to catch up.

"How did it get lost?" The Doctor was still skimming the pages River showed him. It seemed like an ordinary gemstone except for the fact it just belonged to a civilization. "And why do they suddenly want it back _now_?"

"Oh they're a religious bunch," River started explaining. She stopped walking and grasped his wrist, pulling him closer to her. She pointed at a few lines on the pages that he should look at. "They have some prediction coming up and they're doing a ceremony for it. Appeasing Gods and whatnot. The gemstone is crucial to the ceremony."

"And hence the hunter," the Doctor met her gaze. When had she gotten so close to his face!?

She smirked. "Huntress. I believe that's a hero on Earth."

Gabby arched an eyebrow behind them. "So you're human?"

River paid her no attention. "You up for the challenge, sweetie? I'm going to need all hands on deck for this one. Whatever's in that cave can't get out."

"It needs to be quick, River." The Doctor straightened up and thus away from River's face. He pulled his wrist out of her hand, something Gabby smiled proudly at, and handed River the book back. "I'm seeing Renata today."

River's face had gone sour at the mention of the Time snatched the book from him and dropped it into her bag. The Doctor didn't take notice as he led the way ahead. "Right, wouldn't want to make you late for a sickly visit."

Gabby fumed. "Be kind, will you?"

"Oh screw off Gabby," River started walking after the Doctor when Gabby seized her arm. "Hey! Let go!"

"Not until we get some things clear!" Gabby's eyes raged an angry purple that froze River in her spot. Gabby didn't really have control over it but she was working hard on it. Her initial link to Renata had all but faded for the moment - it was hard to tell when Renata's powers were all over the place right now - but the one thing that they did seem to share was the glowing eyes. Hers shined purple and Renata's golden. Now Gabby used her eyes to scare River for at least a minute. "You need to stop taking jabs at Renata. She's not even here!"

"I know, isn't it wonderful?" River smiled sarcastically. "Mummy's not here, too bad for _you_." She pulled her arm out of Gabby's hand.

"What is your problem!?"

"You. And Renata, but that one's resolved for now since she's, uh..." She feigned a cough. "You know. Too bad you're still here."

Gabby could actually feel her insides boiling with anger. "You know, I thought that maybe what happened the last time we met was just a fluke or something but no, it turns out you're just naturally mean and rude. You're terrible, actually. Taking pleasure in someone's illness? That's disgusting."

"Not if you were on my side of the time lines," River said cooly. "You're nothing but a fake - actually, you're a copycat. You so desperately want to be just like your space-mummy that even when she's not around you're the bloody same as her! You're disgusting self-righteous that it's literally beyond me how you were ever your own person before meeting Renata. I'm not a fake, sweetie. You'll find that out as the time lines shift. For now, I get to spend some time with my sweetie."

Gabby laughed. "You _wish_." She moved around River to catch up with the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

The trio had arrived at the sight of the cave. It was closed off with a bunch of rocks, like the remnants of an avalanche. The Doctor immediately examined the area while River and Gabby looked around for a clue on how to get in. Eventually, the two found their way back to where the Doctor was. Well, River did first which then brought Gabby back. She swore that River was looking for any excuse to touch the Doctor. Exhibit A was right now.

River had her diary in one hand while the other hand was on the Doctor's chest, supposedly reading something out of the diary.

"Oh for the love of..." Gabby heaved a heavy sigh and stomped towards the pair. At least the Doctor looked thoroughly uncomfortable.

"So you see, we _have_ done a hunt like this before," River said as she snapped her diary shut. "No need to panic, sweetie. I'm here."

"Yeah...I wasn't panicking," the Doctor stepped back to put some air between them. He glanced at the closed cave. "I was just nervous."

"Nervous about what?" Gabby came up to the two. She followed his gaze to the cave and saw absolutely no way inside. There was only one tiny hole to peer into.

"I thought I saw something..." the Doctor came up to the hole to look into again. There were lights inside, colorful ones, but there was no noise. The lights flickered in and out. "What is this cave, River?"

"Oh, something about mining?" River said, coming up behind him. "It's supposed to be full of something lethal to the aliens which is why they hired me to come get their gemstone."

"Did they tell you what it was?"

"Not really. I stopped listening when they started throwing useless numbers."

"And how is that working out for us now?" Gabby shook her head.

"I never back down from a challenge," River said, her gaze keenly stuck on the Doctor as if she'd meant that in another way...

"You could be serious, you know, for once in your life." Gabby came to stand beside her.

"Yeah, tried that, ever so boring."

"You should try it. It might make you a little more tolerable."

River huffed and turned to face Gabby. "This coming from the most insufferable person I have ever known."

" _Oh_ , that's rich!"

The Doctor winced each time Gabby and River insulted each other. This wasn't getting them any quicker to the stone and much less to seeing Renata again. He didn't know what to do with either of them. This was rather childish coming from both sides - it was a whole other side of Gabby he had never seen before and could really go without seeing it again. It also made him wonder how old River was because this seemed just as childish coming from her end too.

"You better put that thing down or I'll punch you right here and now!" Gabby was in the middle of threatening when the Doctor came back to the present.

He spun around to see River holding her TARDIS diary in a threatening manner. He was _baffled_ by the sight. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop it!" He yelled at both of them. Gabby had often joked how she could pass off as a daughter of their space family and right now the Doctor couldn't help but feel like anything but a father ending children's fights. "River, you wanted help for this stone? Then _help_! And Gabby - act like your age, please! What would Renata say if she saw you acting like this?"

Gabby looked down. She felt a flush of embarrassment realizing what had just happened. "Sorry..." She just couldn't help arguing with River, not when there were so many wrong things coming out of the woman's mouth.

"Quite right," River hated to agree. She put her diary away and focused on the cave in front of them. "Okay, so there's a way to open the cave. Some sort of secret key."

"What would that be?" The Doctor gestured for her to try something.

"Something small to fit into that hole," she made a nod towards it.

"Under a rock?" Gabby offered. River laughed at her on the spot. Gabby's face fell flat as she looked at the Doctor and gestured towards River. ' _This is what I mean'_ she mouthed.

The Doctor nodded. " _River_ ," he sharply called to her.

"Oh c'mon, that was ridiculous!" River wiped away an imaginary tear from her face. "What? Opening up a cave that hasn't been opened in thousands of year with a key we find under a rock?"

Gabby huffed and started looking around for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. The rocks in front of the cave seemed tight and secure in a fashioned manner. There were a few outlying rocks on the ground but she spotted one that seemed just a shade darker of brown. She walked up to it and tried picking it up only to find it was 'stuck'. She bent down in front of it and used both of her hands to pull it up. After a few tries, it finally came undone.

She picked up the silver circle reminiscent of a pendant. It was thin but it seemed like the perfect fit for the hole in the cave. She turned around, about to rub it in River's face when she saw the woman had moved on from laughing.

"Unbelievable," she mumbled under her breath.

The Doctor was trying to put some new distance between him and River since the woman had commented that his hair was sticking out oddly. She was trying to fix it. Just as she was reaching one of the tips, she felt something cold slap the side of her face.

With a few blinks, she pulled something off her cheek and found a silver circle on her palm. She glanced at a smirking Gabby.

"I found the key."

"Excellent!" The Doctor snatched the key right out of River's hands and hurried to the cave.

Gabby sent a wink at River and came to the Doctor's side. "You think it'll help?"

The Doctor was very careful as he placed the circle key over the hole. Gabby had never seen him work so slowly and patiently - except when it came to Renata of course - and to her amazement, the cave shook. The Doctor was quick to yank her backwards as the shaking continued.

"What's happening?" River searched for any sign of foul play. She was half expecting booby-traps to start up now.

"I think we did it," the Doctor beamed when the rocks in front of the cave started sliding as one, like a door.

"Marvelous, well done sweetie," River walked towards it, ignoring the Doctor's cry to stop in case of a trap. "Be adventurous, Doctor! Renata's not here to kill the fun!"

"That's it!" Gabby stomped her foot and hurried after her, leaving the Doctor to follow in a quick sprint to stop whatever would transpire between the women again.

River had already stopped inside the cave when she saw what was inside. It forced Gabby and the Doctor to do the same. The cave was dark but with glimmering lights on either side of them.

"What _are_ they?" Gabby was enthralled with the beautiful, color lights. She was sure that Renata would love them if she was there.

"They're lethal," River reminded her, briefly surprising Gabby because it was meant as _caution_. Maybe she did care just a tiny bit.

"For the aliens who hired you," the Doctor whispered distractedly. He was following up on one precise light that seemed to shine just a bit more than the others. "For us..."

"Doctor," River quickly called to him once she saw his hand reaching for the light.

He had already grabbed onto it. He gave a light pull and ended up holding a white crystal in his hand. He turned it over and the light died down. One more turn and the light came back.

"They're crystals," Gabby realized, a light smile pulling at her lips. "Oh my God, they're crystals!"

"Well great but I'm not looking for any damn crystal. I'm looking for the Silva Gemstone!" River shook her head and started walking down the cave. She was delighted to see something at the very end of the cave shining a dazzling green, something that none of the crystals did.

~ 0 ~

Zhe wasn't one for technology. After her disastrous attempt to create 2 apprentices using her block transfer computation abilities and machinery, she vowed to stick with the traditional ways. But ever since Renata arrived to her retreat, Zhe had made a few adjustments so that Renata would be safe. One new adjustment included a communication system between them and the TARDIS, so no matter where or when the Doctor was he would always be one call away. This sort of communication was made specifically for Zhe to report to the Doctor whenever Renata didn't want to say anything about her health. It seemed like the Doctor knew Renata well enough.

After making sure Renata was asleep, Zhe went into her personal office to conduct another review session with the Doctor. As always, he answered the video call on the first ring. Only this time he seemed a little out of breath.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Zhe watched him exhale rather deeply.

"Yes, yes, just a had to run for a bit. All good now. Is Renata okay?"

At once, Zhe once the artist began to explain Renata's latest energy expelling. "Yes, I suppose," she sighed. "She's resting. She does that a lot, actually. Doctor, if I'm being honest here, I'm worried about her. Her health has shown no progress. The only thing we've managed to do is to get her to self-combust a few times less, but she's still doing it nonetheless. And it seems like each time it hurts her even more."

The Doctor agreed as well. The times he'd been around when Renata would suddenly expel energy, it was hard to watch. Her shrill screams of pain brought chills to anyone who could hear. "I keep working on finding a cure but...I've got nothing." And it pained him to admit that he was _that_ useless. Renata hadn't died in the Crucible but if things kept going at the pace they were now, she would die by the end of the year. And the question of whether or not she would regenerate was still up in the air. He had no idea if regeneration was still an option for her.

"And it's not just her health I'm talking about, Doctor," Zhe sighed, hoping she would be able to word it right and not disclose what Renata had entrusted in her. "Renata's….Renata's spirits are very low. I think the whole situation is taking a toll on her."

Of course it would. The Doctor wasn't very surprised to learn. It would only be a matter of time until Renata felt the weight of it all fall on her shoulders.

"I think it's important that we raise her spirits or it won't matter what we do with her health," Zhe said and not a second later did Gabby appear on the screen.

Gabby shoved the Doctor to the side, leaving Zhe to hear the yelps of the man off screen. "I have an idea!" Zhe could only smile at Gabby's excitement. She was such a lively girl yet could be so shy sometimes it didn't seem like she was the same person. "I'm almost finished with my statue that I've been working on."

The Doctor wandered behind her on the screen, one hand placed over the back of his neck. She was a pretty strong girl. "You mean the one you nearly bit my hand off for?"

Gabby looked up behind her. "If you weren't so nosy, that wouldn't have happened." She then returned her gaze to the smiling Zhe. "Anyways, you were offering an official unveiling of my first official Block Transfer Statue sooo...maybe we could make a little gathering and have Renata help organize stuff." Her eyes flickered to the Doctor again with a knowing smile on her face. "You said Renata used to run a charity back then and she loves to plan things. That should help right?"

The Doctor softly smiled down at her. "I think it would."

"Plus," Gabby's smile turned into a smirk, a sneaky smirk, "I _really_ think my statue is going to help Renata."

"Why? What is it?" the Doctor asked and almost immediately regretted it with Gabby's warning glare. "Alright, never mind!"

Gabby shook her head at him. "So, Zhe, would it be okay if we did that here?"

Zhe nodded. "Of course. I think it would be a fantastic idea. Shall I tell Renata-"

"No, we'll be dropping by in..." The Doctor disappeared from the screen and a few seconds later, Zhe started hearing the TARDIS wheezing from a distance.

~0~

Hearing that she had visitors made Renata spring from her bed like a child would. Rest be damned! She went criss-cross in her bedroom trying to find something nice to wear. She pulled on a long white dress that was rather comfortable. Gabby had left it behind for her in one of their visits, claiming that it was just right for her. She then grabbed a cream colored wool cardigan that reached down her waist. Nowadays she felt a little more cold when she wasn't feeling the excessive warmth from her energy expelling.

She couldn't do much with her hair. These days it was so unruly! She tried her best at keeping half up and half down but she was thoroughly disappointed when she saw the outlying strands in the mirror.

"Ren?" She jumped when she heard Gabby knocking on her door. "Are you okay in there?" Renata knew what Gabby was trying to ask without actually doing it. Had she had another energy expelling?

"I'm okay," she answered and gave the green-light for Gabby to come in.

She was ecstatic to see the Time Lady standing and relatively alright. "What's taking so long? The Doctor's just barely hanging onto patience waiting outside. I thought I'd come in to see if you needed help or something."

Renata shook her head, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm just trying to loo..." She trailed off when another surge of heat hit her. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

Gabby smirked when she realized what Renata was trying to say. She'd been trying to _look nice_ for a certain Time Lord. "I think you look nice. Very pretty...and autumnish..."

Renata blushed. "Thank you."

Gabby chuckled and took her into a big hug. "Oh, I've missed you."

"How long has it been for you two?" Renata curiously asked.

"About 3 months," Gabby pulled away to offer Renata an apologetic smile. "The Doctor thought he had a lead on a potential cure and time sort of got away from us." Both she and the Doctor had agreed not to mention their last trip to Renata. The topic of River Song was still pretty raw for them and Renata still felt terrible that she had died for them in the Library. There was no point in making her feel worse when her health was at risk.

"You don't need to explain to me, Gabriella," Renata patted down Gabby's dark curls. Where ever she had come from must have been an interesting trip. "I'm happy that you and the Doctor are doing just fine without me. It leaves me with the knowledge that you and him would be alright if I-"

"Please don't finish that," Gabby literally felt her heart break at the mere suggestion that one day Renata wouldn't be with them anymore. It brought tears to her eyes, even more so when she remembered that Donna had already left them and not by her choice either.

Renata cradled Gabby's head and smiled warmly at her. "No tears Gabriella. Tell me what you've seen in these past months. I'm sure I must have missed a few things, right?"

Gabby nodded. "Right, right..."

She would describe a few of their trips that didn't end badly. She was quick enough to tell the tales on their way out of the gallery to the back garden where the Doctor would be waiting for them. Once Renata met the Doctor's gaze, Gabby knew it was time to stop telling stories.

"Renée," the Doctor stepped towards her with a big ole smile on his face.

Gabby was outright bemused that he could look like he was seeing Renata for the first time each time they stopped by. She wondered if that's what happened when you were in love.

"I heard you've had some fun lately," Renata said as she took a step towards him.

For a moment, the Doctor panicked thinking Gabby had told her about meeting River again. He crossed gazes with Gabby who immediately shook her head at him. She knew what he was thinking about specifically: their goodbye with River.

_Such a dreadful woman_ , thought Gabby. The nerve she had trying to give the Doctor a kiss goodbye. Even though she claimed it was a kiss on the _cheek,_ Gabby knew better than to believe her. She only said it because she got caught.

"We've um, we've had a few trips here and there," the Doctor said once he knew that Renata was solely talking about the good trips he and _Gabby_ had together. "But I've been searching for ways to help you too."

"I know that," Renata said, her tone lowering. "But you shouldn't waste so much time." She looked between him and Gabby. "I don't want you two cooping yourselves up because of me. Take the trips you want, have fun. Don't let me stop you."

"We can do both," Gabby said sternly. The Doctor nodded in agreement. "And actually, I was thinking that it's time I stuck around a bit more in the gallery."

"Oh?" Renata set her eyes on the Do ctor, silently asking if he had suggested that to keep an eye on her.

"It's my idea, Ren," Gabby said. "I want to unveil my first statue publicly. I talked to Zhe already and she has some ideas. I just wanted to see if you would help organize things. I know you used to run a charity and...well, you love organizing events."

Renata's smile was more than answer to her suspicions. "I do, actually."

"And she's very good at them," the Doctor said proudly. Renata blushed. "I'm sure she'll make your unveiling wonderful."

Gabby thought so too. "Will you do it, Ren?"

"Of course I will," Renata nodded. "Anything specific you wanted?"

"No! You can make all the choices, I fully trust you!" Gabby practically dove to hug Renata, the force of her hug nearly knocking Renata back. The Time Lady just laughed, albeit a raspy one but a laugh nonetheless. "I'm so excited about this!"

"I'll get started right away, then," Renata promised when Gabby pulled away.

"And I'll go set the date with Zhe so you know exactly how much time there is to plan!" Gabby exclaimed. "Give you two some time!"

"Somebody's excited," the Doctor when Gabby was gone, along with the noise of her running footsteps.

"Let her, she's so adorable," Renata fixed her hair and part of her dress after Gabby's wild hug. "And she truly deserves this, so…" She turned around to face him. Her hands once again went to her hair thinking about the strands she wasn't able to command. Would he notice them?

"...hello," he said suddenly. It was the only word that came to mind after staring at her beautiful form. She was so different nowadays and it wasn't because of her illness. Things were different and they both knew it. Long ago she was a sharp, classy Time Lady who would never in her life allow anyone to see her less than properly dressed. He considered her look today just as beautiful as any other day. She just seemed more _natural_. It was as if the sharp dressing, the rules that she was used to when it came to picking clothes, had been abandoned in favor of something she truly liked. Even her hair was different now. It wasn't thoroughly brushed but her waves were still prominent.

"Hi..." Renata felt the air leave her as the Doctor continued to stare at her. She took a step forwards, her fingers nervously grasping the baggy sleeves of her cardigan.

The Doctor couldn't take it. He pulled her against him for a hug. Renata was surprised but she quickly retreated closer to him, her arms wrapping around him like she hadn't seen him in years. She even let her eyes close as her head came to rest over his shoulder. She was painfully aware that each time he came by, it could be the last time she would see him. And it was in those moments that she wondered if letting herself die would be better than this. She spent so much time fighting with herself that she couldn't - that she _shouldn't_ \- be with the Doctor that now that there was a possible chance he might want to be with her...she was at a total loss.

The Doctor's arms wrapped around Renata's slightly more slim body tightly. He noticed that each time he saw her she seemed like she was getting skinnier. Zhe did mention her loss of appetite was getting stronger. He wasn't being quick enough to find her a cure. He was failing her and he couldn't do that to her again. The anger he held for her was slowly fading away each time he saw her and realized that if she got better...there could be a future for them. A future of total freedom and _love_.

"I'm okay, Doctor," he heard Renata's quiet whisper.

He snapped back to the present and held her tighter. Realizing she was basically slipping from him was a terrible torture. He couldn't lose her again. "You will be," he promised her.

Renata lifted her head off his shoulder to look up at him. "Tell me where you've been," she said, her voice still but a whisper. "Tell me what new adventures you've had."

The Doctor brought one of his hands to the side of her head. His fingers gently pushed back some of her strands of hair. "I've got something for you."

"Again?" She asked, her cheeks blushing pink. "You don't have to bring me anything, you know."

"You can't travel with me right now so I have to bring back something from the travels."

"Well, right, but...I just don't want you to go out of your way for me. I'm content with hearing your stories."

And he was very content watching the way her eyes would lit up with excitement each time he showed her his newest gift to her. As much as she claimed that traveling was just not her thing, she sure loved learning about the new objects he brought her. "Come," he let go of her only to take her hand and lead her to the small steps of the porch. He carefully helped her sit down before taking his seat. "Now this one was sort of a surprise. Didn't really go looking for it."

"That's not very surprising," Renata mused. She watched his hand search for the gift inside his jacket. "You never go looking for trouble, right?"

He smiled wryly. "Of course." He pulled out a white crystal in the shape of a small pillar. It was the same one he had first plucked from the cave earlier in the day. "Now this is a special type of crystal..."

Renata was mesmerized by its flecks of brilliant colors. It twinkled as the Doctor held it between them. "What makes it so special?" She wondered.

"Well, I found it in a cave that hasn't been opened in a thousand years and it shined more than all the other crystals inside."

"Ah, right, that makes it special alright," Renata chuckled. "How did you come across it?"

"Um...by accident," the Doctor shrugged. It wasn't a lie, technically. "But I thought that it could find a home with you now."

"You should keep it, though. You found it after all."

"And I think it belongs with you," the Doctor took her hand and dropped the crystal on her palm. He delicately grazed his fingers over the crystal and it suddenly shot out a beam of light above them. It expanded to show them twinkling stars.

"Oh wow..." Renata's head whipped in every direction trying to catch sight of each star in the air. She was in utter awe. "That's beautiful."

"Mhm," the Doctor agreed, but his eyes weren't on the stars. He was watching _her_ take in the stars. A long time ago, on Gallifrey, this is what he dreamed of when he thought of him and Renata venturing into the world. Once again the anger he'd felt towards her seemed so senseless. He shouldn't waste time again, not when the world was offering him a rare second chance.

From inside, Gabby had come back to check on them but stopped at once when she saw them in their little bubble of bliss. She smiled warmly at them. She was sure that no matter who or what tried to cut between them, no one would ever be successful. No one could tear them apart.

~ 0 ~

As much as Renata tried to push through, her weakened state always demanded that she rest in-between the day. The Doctor knew it, Zhe knew it, Gabby knew it...she was the last one to find out.

"I can really make something for us to eat," she said even as the Doctor had to physically lead her to her room. "I always make dinner for us..."

"Right, yes, but tonight you need to sleep. We're okay, trust me," he stopped by her closed door. "But we'll be back tomorrow, I promise. Gabby's going to want to stop by more often and she'll be staying, so...you'll be seeing more of us."

"I hope so," Renata said truthfully. "I know you hate it but I want to soak up every last moment I have."

"No," the Doctor refused to even think about such an idea. She wouldn't have to do that because things weren't going to end the way she thought they would. "You're going to get better. I will find a way."

Renata's smile was a sad one. "That's exactly what I mean. I don't want you to get so obsessed over this. It's okay. I've...I've made my peace with it."

"No!" the Doctor continued, shaking his head fervently. "Because-because we don't even know if regeneration is still an option. What if-what if you don't reg…?" he couldn't even finish the sentence. He didn't want to think about it.

But Renata had long thought about it. She put her hands on his cheeks. "If I don't, it's okay. You won't be alone because Gabriella is going to be with you. Plus, you have Martha, Jack and hey, you even have Mickey now. Martha says he's a really good guy. And who knows? You might even find some new companions out there!"

It was hard not to get angry. The Doctor pushed her hands off his face and frowned. "I am not accepting that. I've lost you one too many times and I'm not interested in a repeat. I hate endings so I'm gonna make sure there's no ending here."

"Doc…" Renata was midway through her call when he stormed away.

~ 0 ~

Gabby wasn't that surprised the conversation between the Doctor and Renata didn't turn out well. It wouldn't be the first time. Gabby just didn't understand _why_ they continued to do this to each other. She wondered if it was because they just loved each other so much that they didn't know what to do with it anymore.

"You sure you don't want him to come back so you can talk to him again?" Gabby sat on the foot of the bed next to Renata.

The blonde Time Lady shook her head. "No, there's no point. Plus, it's better this way. I don't want him getting too attached when things go south for me."

Gabby gave her friend crestfallen glance. "You're that sure you're going to die?"

"I always like being realistic, Gabriella. It's always been like this," Renata got up from the bed with a heavy sigh.

Gabby watched as the Time Lady wobbled on her feet when she was only walking to the bed stand. It saddened Gabby that such a menial action was now such a challenge for Renata.

"But I've done a very good job at hiding it," Renata came up to the bed stand where she gingerly picked up her golden locket. Her eyes flickered to the night stand on the other side of the bed where she had placed the crystal pillar the Doctor had just brought her.

"But that's just it," Gabby shifted on the bed to face Renata's direction. "You don't _need_ to do that anymore. Everything's out on the table now." Renata briefly met Gabby's gaze and with the intensity of it, Gabby's smile began to fade. "...isn't it?"

Renata said nothing and returned her gaze to the locket in her hand. She didn't want Gabby to know about her intentions of letting herself die if her body couldn't withstand the energy inside her.

"You know," Gabby began a minute later, "I've noticed you don't wear that locket anymore."

"Yeah, so what? I just...don't think Elek deserves that anymore. He doesn't deserve a lying widower."

"Renata, I'm curious, have you always been this hard on yourself?" Gabby sighed when Renata didn't answer. "I feel...I feel like you're so used to drowning that you've forgotten how to swim. You _can_ pull yourself back up."

Renata shut her eyes for a moment as tears threatened to spill from them. Gabby had struck a good point that brought up the fact: she didn't know _how_ to pull herself back up. She never learned how. The mistakes she made on Gallifrey were irreparable now that it was gone. There was never a chance for her to make up for all the wrong things she did and because of it, she only became harder on herself for them.

She had drowned a long time ago. Could she ever come back?

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Originally this chapter was about 4500 words and at the last moment I got a new vision and added like 5k more words. The mind works in mysterious ways I guess. I've been wanting to bring River back before 10 goes because it always struck me why on Earth River would ask in the Library about adventures she clearly had with 11. Like she wouldn't mistake 11's face for 10 or vice versa. But it was clear that she'd seen 10 at some point and I always figured it was around the time of the specials when it happened soo...here it was. And yes, if you thought the arguments between her and Gabby was childish, that was the _point_ and it sets up for the next time they see River in the next story. Renata's not going to let it slip like the Doctor did.

But poor Ren, I feel so bad writing her in this funk but I really feel it's the only way she could be after everything. It's all finally caught up with her and she has no idea what to do with herself. Does she want to die? Yes, maybe. Does she want to be with the Doctor? Yes. Can she be happy? No clue _how_.

**P. S:** I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	29. Metamorphosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabby gets to unveil her first artwork and what it is might be powerful enough to make new decisions.

The day had come. Today was Gabby's official unveiling of her first artwork. Zhe's gallery was a busy, busy place. People were running around setting up things that needed to be ready by the scheduled hour. Everyone was following Renata's orders to the last detail. And Renata? She was quite at home doing what she did best: organizing.

"I am going to need this entire area to be covered by those fancy little light bulbs humans are so fond of," the Time Lady was in the middle of instructing several employees when the Doctor and Gabby arrived. "You know the ones that are like strings? What are they called? String light bulbs! And make them lavender - that's Gabby's favorite color."

"She is _really_ good at that," Gabby chuckled to the Doctor as they continued to watch Renata command the entire area.

"Yeah she is," the Doctor agreed, nodding proudly. That was one thing he always loved about her. He loved watching her take the reigns of an entire room with just a clipboard and a waving hand. It was even more curious back then because Renata's first incarnation was a petite figure while this current incarnation was much taller.

"Should we tell her we're here?" Gabby's question pulled the Doctor back to the present. She was absolutely excited to get the show started.

"Not yet, I need to see Zhe first," he said and turned away from the garden. "But you can go and say hello to her." Gabby nodded, her smile faltering when she realized what e was doing: diagnostic checks.

Zhe was the only person the Doctor trusted completely in when it came to Renata's health. The Time Lady was used to lying about her health left to right, but Zhe would not.

Gabby sprinted down the hill leading to the garden - probably not her best idea but she was so excited - and called for Renata's attention. "Ren! We're here!"

Renata's eyes widened with delight. She opened her arms in time for Gabby who came hugging her. "Gabriella, I'm so happy you're here!"

"Me too!" Gabby pulled away and turned her attention to the stage across them.

The stage was only recently finished since Gabby watched the employees barely getting off it. It was a deep blue (almost TARDIS blue) colored stage with dark purple curtains tied on the sides. Gabby's eyes flickered to the chairless tables set around them. All of them were an iridescent purple-blue with bright lavender poppies as the centerpieces. And now the employees were setting up the string light bulbs that were going to hang over their event, each tied to the wooden poles set in a square around the garden.

"This place looks amazing!" Gabby laughed so loud that some of the employees stopped to give her a look. She blushed with embarrassment and turned to Renata.

The Time Lady looked nervous for some reason. "You think so?" Renata asked, her tone matching the nervous expression on her face. "This is the first event I plan for humans so...let me know if anything's wrong."

"Absolutely nothing!" Gabby fervently shook her head. "When the Doctor said you were good at planning, he didn't mention is was _really_ good! You would be such a good wedding planner - plan mine in the future, okay?"

Renata chuckled. "Oh Gabriella, you're too young. Let's hold off on those wedding plans for a while, okay?"

"Fine, then plan yours!"

Renata coughed awkwardly, her smile fading completely. Her eyes now seemed to think that her clipboard was the only thing worth looking at. "I'm never getting married again."

"Mhm," Gabby rolled her eyes.

"So then," Renata gently pulled Gabby into a walk so she could better see the garden. "I have your parents set up at the closest table to the stage. I've made sure there's plenty of food that they can recognize, although between you and me...I don't think your mother's going to be happy that you didn't let her cook for this event."

Gabby chuckled. "I didn't want her to work tonight."

"And I also have your artwork being brought to the stage promptly at 8pm. Don't worry, I have the best employees carrying it secretly. Zhe will introduce you and she mentioned that she's bringing over some highly influential artists from different galaxies to see your piece."

"No pressure there," Gabby sucked in a sharp breath.

"You'll be fine," Renata patted the girl's back. "And now we've come to the best part of your event, besides introducing your first artwork...your wardrobe."

"I was just thinking I'd use something from the TARDIS - I already asked the Doctor and he definitely doesn't mind—"

"—right, and believe me when I say that I am more of a simple kind of woman."

"Simple but elegant," Gabby muttered and smiled when Renata mock-glared. "What? It's just who you are. You're a classy kind of woman."

"So I've been told," Renata rolled her eyes, clearly disbelieving such a statement. "Anyways, Zhe has prepared a wardrobe for you, herself…" her face scrunched suddenly, "...and me," she added in a mutter. Gabby snorted until she burst into laughter. Renata shook her head and picked up her walking pace.

~ 0 ~

Zhe had locked her office in case Renata stopped by, but she doubted that it would stop Renata from trying to get in if she wanted to.

"I've kept track of all the times Renata's expelled energy," she was handing the Doctor her records of Renata's health. "She doesn't exactly know and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate it."

"Mhm," the Doctor agreed with a hum. He let himself fall into one of the desk chairs as he scanned every line of what Zhe wrote. "According to this, she's expelling more and more each day."

"I've also taken liberty of categorizing her energy levels each time. On the next page," Zhe motioned him to turn the page.

"How'd you manage to do that?" he briefly looked up after turning the page.

"I'm not proud of it but I did set up a couple devices around the gallery to calculate Renata's energy levels and her biological state whenever she expells energy." Zhe's shoulders slumped at the Doctor's surprised reaction. "I know, I'm not proud of it…"

"You did what you had to do," the Doctor said and went back to the report in front of him. "And by the looks of it, you did good. Her energy's strength is getting too strong for one person. I'm frankly amazed she's made it this far without…" he swallowed hard, unable to bring himself to finish that thought.

But Zhe knew exactly what he was going to say. It was a miracle that Renata was making it to this point. Her life was hanging by a string.

"Do you think this could help in creating a cure for her?" she asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor confessed, frustrated that it was always the same answer. "But it's at least warning me that she needs to take it far easier than what she's been doing. After this, I may just need to put her on bed rest."

"Good luck with that," Zhe leaned against her desk. "You think you have a chance?"

The Doctor shook his head. That would be a battle all on its own.

"I propose we have a calm night for Renata and then tomorrow you can discuss with her about the next step she needs to take."

"I guess so," the Doctor sighed. He had no other choice.

~ 0 ~

Gabby, honestly, felt overwhelmed with all the wardrobe employees hanging around her. She would much rather be a simple but elegant woman right now.

"Don't you think this is all...a bit flashy?" she asked one of the employees doing her cheeks.

"Of course not! This is what's necessary!" the woman responded and continued applying blush.

"Really? _All_ of this is necessary?"

"Yes!" went the entire set of employees.

Gabby really doubted that, even more so when one of the jewels hanging from her ridiculously huge headpiece smacked her in the eyes.

"Gabby, just let them finish," Renata was writing something on her clipboard while the employees worked around her. "You look fantastic."

Gabby narrowed her eyes at the woman but Renata was so engrossed in her clipboard that she never noticed. "Yeah? Then how come you're not getting ready?"

Renata swayed her head innocently and turned for the door. "Later, later," she said. "I have to go check on how everything else is doing." She headed for the door but stopped to cough rather aggressively.

Gabby wanted to get off the chair as soon as she heard Renata, but the stylists kept her still. "Ren? Are you okay?"

Renata brought a hand to her mouth in hopes of muffling the volume. The last thing she needed was to ruin Gabby's night. She took in a deep breath and lowered her hand, only to see a couple spots of blood on her palm. _That's new_ , she blinked and quickly rubbed it away on her pants. "I'm fine, Gabriella. I'll be back to check up on you." She left the room in a hurry but ended up crashing into someone. She yelped when she felt the metal of her clipboard smack her chin. "OW!"

"Renata?" she heard Gabby's call from the other side.

"I'm fine!" Renata said quickly then faced the person she crashed into. "Oh of course it's you," she shook her head at the Doctor. "Were you running down a hallway?"

"If you're going for the 'teacher vibe', you've definitely got it," the Doctor nodded and looked her over with a degree of amusement.

She was not amused. She brought her hand to rub her chin. "I only say that because every time you run down a hallway, I end up hurt. Remember that night we snuck into the Academy's library?"

The Doctor definitely remembered judging his quick laughter. "And you slipped on a piece of paper. I still don't get how someone does that - I mean, it's _just_ paper."

Renata dropped her hand to her side, balling it into a fist. "It happens!"

"Right," the Doctor would only agree for her sake. He eyed her chin and saw the light red spot on it from her clipboard's metal. "Sorry about that," he touched her chin suddenly that it startled her. "I was actually trying to find you."

Renata stared at him with blushed cheeks. She knew that fond look of his anywhere because in the beginning, he always made sure to point out himself. ' _This is the look of someone you have wrapped around your finger'_ he would tell her with that idiot smile of his.

"What, uh, what did you need?" she finally managed to put her words together after a few minutes, but just for good measure she took a step away from him.

The Doctor awkwardly let his hand hang on his side. "I wanted to check on you, of course, see how you're doing?"

Renata rolled her eyes. "I'm doing just fine. I'm busy, but I'm fine." She started walking because she didn't want Gabby to overhear any of her health conversations. "I'm planning, what I always used to do."

"And a fairly good job you're doing," the Doctor followed her and easily caught up to walk beside her. "I've just been out to the garden and you did a fantastic job. No surprise there."

Renata smiled. "Thank you. I made sure that everything was perfect and I intend on keeping it that way."

"But you're not over-exerting yourself, right?" the Doctor stopped walking and grabbed her arm to make sure she didn't try running off on him. "That was one of the conditions Gabby put too."

"Yes, I'm fine," Renata shook her head, although her eyes did linger on the faded blood she'd rubbed off on her pants. "I'm smiling aren't I?"

"Yes but you're very well trained with that," the Doctor smiled himself for show. "It's kind of annoying, actually."

"You don't think I find many things about you annoying too?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, and it's vice versa, but I still care about your health and I am going to make sure that you don't overexert yourself. I've talked to Zhe and—"

"—oh no, not this again," Renata wrenched her arm free of his grip. "I am _not_ talking about my health on an important day like this."

"Renata-"

"—no, and that's final. If you're just going to talk about that with me then...I'd rather you not speak to me at all," she frowned and walked off.

The Doctor watched her go but he wasn't going to let her get off that easily. She could try to ignore him but he would be near her to oversee that nothing too stressful came her way.

~ 0 ~

"Gabby you look wonderful," Zhe clapped her four hands together for a small applause.

"Do you think Zhe would mind if I took off these shoes in about 10 minutes?" Gabby felt safe confiding that only to the Doctor.

The Time Lord couldn't help but chuckle as he helped Gabby come out to the garden. "You look wonderful."

Gabby blushed but gladly took the compliment. She was just making it out of the gallery building where the others were waiting, including her family.

_"¡Ay pero que grande está esa cosa!"_ her mother cried at the incredibly large headpiece resting over Gabby's head. "It's so big!"

Gabby had been styled in an irridescent blue-purple gown with a modest slit going up to her knee. It was a dress with a Grecian neckline made up of only one string of turquoise beads. The same beads went around her arms and we're connected to a dark blue, flowy cape in the back. On top of Gabby's head was a huge headpiece made out of the same turquoise beads paired with a silver background. It was in the shape of tree branches and from those branches hung iridescent butterfly-shaped gems that would knock against Gabby's face every once in a while.

It was ridiculous, Gabby thought. But according to Zhe, it was high fashion for events like these. Plus, Renata had to wear the same type of dresses so Gabby thought it was all fair.

"This is honestly so ridiculous," she heard Renata huff behind.

Renata was escorted out of the building by Zhe herself and as soon as Gabby saw Renata, she knew nobody else could wear _that_ dress. Zhe knew exactly what she was doing when she ordered their gowns.

Renata had been assigned a beautiful peach colored gown that faded into a soft yellow towards the bottom of the a-line skirt. What truly made it _Renata_ were the dozens of beautifully adorned butterflies on it. There were separate wings of soft greens and blues and oranges decorating the skirt. There were more butterfly wings collected at the bodice to look as if the dress had a mesh over it, but each of the wing's tips poked up to create a sleeveless neckline. One thin white, beaded belt went around her waist. And, just like Gabby, Renata was also forced into a large headpiece. Renata's headpiece was of course a butterfly with swinging golden gems at the tips of the wings.

"This is ridiculous!" Renata repeated just to make a point.

"No it's not!" Gabby finally understood and laughed in delight. "You look so pretty! Doctor, wouldn't you agree?"

The man could only nod silently for now. He was too busy looking Renata over as if he'd never seen her before. She'd absolutely taken his breath away. "Beautiful," he settled on the word for the moment until he could string more words together.

Renata blushed and matched the soft hues of her dress. "It's honestly, uh, a bit too much…" she found it hard to breath as well, so she looked to Zhe for some distractions. "Is this truly necessary?"

Zhe nodded her head fervently. "Very. This is high society we're dealing with, ladies."

"High _space_ society," Gabby murmured and swallowed hard just thinking about everybody waiting for them in the garden.

"Exactly," Zhe nodded. "And we must give them a show. Shall we get started? There is a list of people I want you to meet before the unveiling."

"R-right now?" Gabby blinked. Her gaze switched to Renata for some help but the Time Lady only motioned her to go along with Zhe.

"This is your night, go and make the best of it," Renata smiled but Gabby didn't seem entirely convinced as she and her family were led away by Zhe.

"Renée," the Doctor stepped to her side, looking just as nervous as she was. "I'm sorry about earlier—"

Renata raised a hand to stop him from talking. "You don't have to. I'm sorry. I've been a bit under duress from planning and keeping my own symptoms away from Gabby, I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

"You have to know that I only want to make sure you're okay. It's hard watching you go through all this because I can't find a proper cure."

"Absolutely not your fault!" Renata turned to face him. "And please, I would really appreciate if we kept all this talk away from Gabby tonight. I don't want anything to ruin her night."

The Doctor nodded at her, but he was going to keep a close eye on her all night in case she would need him. "Well then, can I escort you to the garden, miss?"

Renata smiled with flushed cheeks. "I'd like that." She interlocked arms with his and headed down for the garden.

~0~

The garden was indeed full of high class people as Zhe had said. Renata knew exactly the type of people she had met and she could honestly count the ones she'd actually liked. She didn't reach past five.

"They're all snobs," she told the Doctor who chuckled beside her. "They remind me so much of some of the people I used to deal with back on Gallifrey. It's sad, really."

"Well, at least Gabby seems to be enjoying herself," the Doctor directed Renata's attention to the young girl across them. She looked animated in the conversation she was having with a young humanoid woman.

"That's the point," Renata said, content and relieved to see the evening going so well. Of course that's when she started to feel a funny tickle in her throat. Before she could even turn away, she started coughing.

"Renée," the Doctor acted fast and turned her back in his direction. She was waving him away with her free hand, the other was trying to keep her coughs muffled from the people.

"Doctor, Renata!" Zhe approached them without a clue of what was happening. "Gabby's unveiling is going to happen in a couple minutes."

"That's great, Zhe, but we're having a bit of a situation right now," the Doctor took Renata by the shoulders and tilted her chin up so he could she her face. "You're overexertion has caught up with you."

"Is she having another relapse?" Zhe entered almost the same panicked state as the Doctor.

"No! Stop it!" Renata swatted all of their hands away from them. "I'm fine! Just a bit of a cough!" She took in a deep breath and exhaled without anymore coughing. However, she put her hands behind her back and rubbed her right hand against her dress. The soft red hue of her dress should make the blood blend right in.

Zhe exchanges a look with the Doctor, both of them worried where Renata could end up if she kept going like this.

"Prepare Gabby's unveiling," Renata instructed Zhe as if nothing had happened. "I'll bring Gabby to the stage myself." She didn't leave room for protests as she left in a hurry to reach Gabby.

"What do we do?" Zhe asked the Doctor afterwards.

The Doctor was watching after Renata as she made her way through the crowd of people. She was smiling and greeting people as if she hadn't just had coughed for her life. She truly knew how to maneuver herself through high-class society. "We keep a very close eye on her," he told Zhe in the end. He didn't care how much heat he would get from Renata, he would pull her away if she got worse.

~0~

Gabby's entire body was shaking when she was brought up on stage to address the crowd. Suddenly, she thought they all had beedy eyes. She only calmed down when she saw her family, Renata and the Doctor in the front row just like she wanted.

"Thank you everyone for coming," Zhe spoke first, which gave Gabby some time to ease her nerves. "I'm sure it was quite a shock to hear from me after, what? A few centuries give or take?" there was a light laugh that broke through the crowd. "I owe it all to some good friends that includes Gabby herself. Now let me just tell you a little bit about her and her unique story. Is that alright, dear?" Gabby nodded fervently. More minutes meant more time and more time meant she could possibly make herself look less of a fool.

"Gabby Gonzalez is a human," Zhe said, so proudly that it almost reminded Gabby of the Doctor. They were so animated over the silliest of things. "She is the first human to ever absorb the Quantum Matrix that allows for one to sculpt. You may have heard of the 27 planets that were stolen a couple months back? My friend Gabby, along with an amazing team, were responsible for putting them back in their place." There was a round of applause from the crowd that brought out the deepest red on Gabby's cheeks.

"To help aid her team, Gabby used her unique abilities - the Quantum Matrix itself in the form of butterflies. It's entirely new; it's never been seen before. Ladies and gentlemen, the Cosmic Butterfly," Zhe gestured with two of her arms at the young girl who was ready to die of embarrassment. Zhe leaned close to Gabby and motioned her to take the stage now. "All yours, dear."

"Th-thanks," Gabby took in a deep breath as Zhe started walking off stage. Gabby glanced over her shoulder and saw her creation hidden under a gray tarp. Well, it was now or never. "Zhe is right, I'm human and, to be honest, it's nothing special. There are tons of humans out there, literally. The reason that I'm unique is because there's no one else like _me_ , and I'm fortunate to know that...and to _remember_ that." She briefly crossed gazes with Renata and the Doctor, all of them taking a moment to remember Donna. "Some of us don't have that luxury, so I'm going to make sure my work represents the people who have done so much for us. However my first piece here, I want to dedicate to someone who has completely changed my perspective on things, on the _world_. Without that person, I would've never been able to open my eyes to the world.

"She's done so much for me, for our friends. She always gives and yet she's so hard on herself for past choices that are just that: _past_ choices." Gabby's gaze somehow wound up on Renata and the moment the Time Lady realized it, she began to get a funny feeling in her stomach. "The meaning of butterflies on Earth sometimes varies. Some people think that butterflies represent the souls of people. Others think that a butterfly can symbolize the life struggles that people have endured only to emerge as a better person. It's metamorphosis. And the person I have dedicated this work to has had a few rebirths and life cycles. And in each life I think she's done better than the last one. This precise life she's lived...she's had a few struggles but I think in the end she will be someone the universe has been waiting for."

Renata turned her head to see what the Doctor was thinking but he was far too enthralled with the speech - looking mighty proud of Gabby, almost like a father - to notice Renata's lingering gaze. So, she turned her attention back to Gabby who was still so animatedly speaking. _Butterflies…_

"So, without further ado, my first piece," Gabby made a gesture for the employees to drop the tarp from her statue. There was a collective gasp from the crowd when the tarp hit the ground, but none as deep as Renata. Nobody could outdo Gabby's huge grin, not even the Doctor. "I call it the Vortex Butterfly."

Gabby's statue was all bronze. The woman she had sculpted stood tall and proud with her arms slightly extended on her sides and her head tilted up to the sky. She wore a bronze colored tunic with one sleeve going around her left shoulder. Her long hair cascaded down on her right shoulder with a few stray strands framing her face and her left shoulder. What really took the crowd away were the beautiful large butterfly wings on her back. They looked ready to flutter and fly. Gabby had sculpted every last feature of Renata so delicately it could pass off as the real Time Lady.

Renata was left speechless. In fact, there was a huge silence all around her until somebody let out a fervent applause.

"That is just amazing!" the Doctor was so excited over the piece that he had made Renata blush without even noticing. "Well done, Gabby! Well done!"

Soon, the whole crowd started applauding. The only one who didn't was Renata and that was only because she was still in shock. Tears came to her eyes instead as she began to realize how Gabby had chosen _her_ for her first piece of artwork.

Gabby heard his praise and laughed with embarrassment. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Vortex Butterfly...or as I like to call her, Renata. She helped save the entire universe - the universes - and I think she deserves some peace knowing that she is _loved_ and _forgiven."_ She looked directly at Renata for the last words, truly hoping that Renata understood how honest those words were. The crowd erupted into a second round of applause, making Gabby's grin grow wider. This is what she wanted; people should know about Renata and her extraordinary abilities, but most of all her personality. Gabby firmly believed that everyone should have at least one Renata in their life. She was lucky to have hers and she was sure that the Doctor was just as grateful as her.

Renata was naturally teary eyed. The applause around her slowly faded from her ears. She couldn't take her eyes off the statue and much less Gabby. The young girl was grinning from ear to ear and it was all directed towards Renata. _When_ did Gabby ever get the idea to do something like that? At what point did Gabby put all of her faith in her? Why? In all those incredulous thoughts, a little voice started asking the hard questions again. _How_ could she dare to leave Gabby behind like that? If she so willingly went and died, she would be leaving a young girl who...truly loved her that much.

She snuck a look at the Doctor who was still one of the most prominent applauders amongst the audience. He was just as proud of Gabby as Renata was. It warmed Renata's hearts. Somehow Gabby had claimed all of their hearts and Renata found herself wanting more of this. She wanted to see what other artwork Gabby would come up with. She wanted to see where the Doctor would take them and what sure trouble would follow them. She wanted to keep teaching Gabby and introducing her to the galaxies. She didn't want to leave them behind.

When Gabby met Renata's gaze again, the Time Lady mouthed a 'thank you' with a teary-eyed smile.

~ 0 ~

Needless to say that after Gabby's unveiling, Renata was sought out by nearly all the guests. Everyone wanted to get to know the last Time Lady in existence. How they even learned of her species Renata had no idea, but she was trained for all the bombarding in noble events.

"That was a really nice speech, Gabby," the Doctor remarked while he and Gabby watched Renata converse with yet another of the guests. The man seemed positively entranced with her, something the Doctor was watching perhaps a bit too narrow-eyed.

"I thought it would be," Gabby chuckled. "I just thought that after everything that's happened, Renata should know that not everyone looks at her like she's done something wrong."

"Well, no one does," the Doctor murmured, somewhat distant. His mind went straight to the infamous night before his wedding. He used to remember that night as the most painful moment of his lives, but now every time he thought of it he saw the blackmail behind it. He saw the Assessor. He used to think that Renata was just stuck in her traditional ways and while that may have been partially the reason, she was driven by the fact her sister could've found him and hurt him.

"You okay, Doctor?" Gabby asked softly. She could tell he was off lost in his deep thoughts and wondered if they were all about him and Renata. "Did I go too far?"

The Doctor blinked once and switched to happiness like that. "Absolutely not. I think you're right. How's about we go talk to Renata for a few? I get the feeling she's starting to feel the full effects of your work."

Gabby chuckled. "Of course." She wouldn't point out that the man Renata was talking to had gotten a bit handsy with her. She was sure the Doctor had long ago noticed.

The Doctor didn't waste a second more. He darted for Renata, pulling Gabby - who laughed - with him. "Scuse me, mind if we cut in?"

The man's face morphed into utter disdain for the two newcomers. As far as he was concerned, they were intruders in what could turn out to be a very nice evening. "Actually, yeah."

Gabby was amazed at how the Doctor so swiftly changed his polite smile to a dark one in only two seconds, and the way it was so subtle too. She checked for Renata's reaction and was momentarily confused to find the Time Lady surprised. But slowly, Renata began to smile and Gabby dared to think it was a fond smile.

"I am so sorry," the Doctor began to say but there was no hiding the sarcasm in his voice. "What I meant to say was...Gabby, the whole reason you're even here, would like a word with Miss Renata."

"What? And you're their body guard?" the man sneered.

"Actually, yeah. I like to think I am. Goodbye," the Doctor promptly grabbed Renata's hand then Gabby's and led them away from the stunned man.

"That was too funny!" Gabby's giggle quickly turned into a laugh.

"And rather rude," Renata added but the smile on her face didn't exactly portray someone who was upset her conversation had been cut short. "Thank you, Doctor. I think I'm a little rusty on how to mingle with people."

_"That_ was being rusty?" Gabby gaped with one thumb jerked over her shoulder. "You basically talked to everyone here!"

"For a short time each," Renata argued weakly. "A proper conversation should last a bit longer than just a few minutes."

"You don't have to abide by the rules anymore, Renée," the Doctor reminded her. She was still thinking the way her parents raised her. "You're free." _In what fits._

"I suppose you're right," Renata chuckled when the thought really hit her. "But Gabriella, while I have you here, I wanted to thank you for such a beautiful gift. I have no idea why you decided to do your first piece on _me_ but...I'm very touched."

"I'm glad you loved it! I was a bit nervous but I think it all came out the way I wanted it to," Gabby moved over to give Renata a big hug. "Plus, I wanted to thank you for everything you've done since we met. You're my hero, Ren."

"Don't know why _I_ would be," Renata said while looking directly at the Doctor. He was watching her with a soft smile. "I'm no...well, you know…" Gabby had pulled away in time to see Renata nodding towards the Doctor. "I'm just me."

"And we wouldn't you to be anyone else," Gabby stepped back to stand beside the Doctor. "Right, Doctor?" she looked up at him expectantly.

"Quite right," he agreed, nodding lightly with a gaze that didn't seem to see anything but Renata. "You picked the perfect subject, Gabby."

Renata felt her face warm as the seconds ticked by and the Doctor was still staring at her. Gabby picked up on it and smirked. "I'm going to find my parents, don't mind me…" She was sure that neither had really heard her.

Renata would've kept her eyes on the Doctor too had it not been for the sharp pain that struck through her chest. Her gasp came out strained, as if someone had cut her air short.

"Renée?" the Doctor picked up on her sudden jerk and presumed what she was struggling to contain.

"I-I need to get out of here," she managed to say and turned away. With the Doctor's help, they maneuvered through the crowd until they were a safe distance away.

That was when Renata pushed him away from her. "You have to stay away from me!"

"Renata we're not doing that! Let me help you!" the Doctor argued in vain as the woman continued to wobble away from him. With a groan - although unsurprised by her resistance - he followed after her.

Renata had collapsed on the ground, one leg partly over the fabric of her dress. She didn't even hear part of its tear with her scream. The Doctor was forced back with the intensity of the energy.

The energy was burning her again, inside out really. Her skin felt as if there were a thousand needles poking through, pushing through the layers underneath. And yet all the Doctor could do was watch and wait for it to pass. His body would inch towards her but would have to retreat for fear of being caught up with the energy. It wasn't getting caught in her crossfire that stopped him from getting closer, it was the fact that he could make it worse for _her_ that did it. He may not carry the same amount of the Vortex inside him but he still carried _some,_ which would just add to the levels inside Renata. When the energy finally died, it left a shaking Renata on the ground. Her arms that were sustaining her from fully collapsing were wobbly, alerting her that in a few seconds she would go down.

"Renata!" the Doctor finally ran to her side, letting himself fall right next to her. "I've got you, I've got you!" His arms worked fast to wrap around her with the intentions of helping her stand, but she couldn't even make it halfway up.

She had no strength anymore.

"I just want it to...stop…" Renata struggled to breath normally. She felt so tired and the worst part is now she had a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, she would get to survive and do the things she thought about earlier; what she _wanted_ in life. Maybe it'd been too late to make up her mind. "I can't...I can't move…"

"It's okay, I've got you," the Doctor was about to pick her up when she yelled at him not to.

"I don't...I don't want...Gabby to s-see me...like this," her chest heaved up and down. "I'm not... going to ruin...her p-party."

"Renée, we need to get you to your room. Or even the TARDIS so I can run more tests." But as the Doctor went on about what they should do, she shook her head in refusal.

"No, no, we know what the tests will say. We know it's getting worse. I'm just waiting for the big bang, literally."

"Don't say that, Renée. There's still the possibility of regeneration after this."

Renata wouldn't say anything about that. It now scared her that there quite possibly might not be a chance anymore. "I just want to...stay here," she exhaled slightly better. "Until I can move."

The Doctor sighed. He knew better than to argue with her. "You're still stubborn as ever," he muttered, making her smile, while he fixed himself on the ground to sit better. He then gathered her body and brought her over his lap. He may not be able to move her where he wanted to but this was a close second.

"Don't you make me mad," she warned, her voice a whisper when she rested her head - or rather her head fell from exhaustion - on his chest.

"Me? Never," the Doctor sarcastically quipped. He smiled when he heard her low laugh. "Story of my life, huh?"

"Nah, I was too preoccupied being uptight to ever have fun like you did." Renata shook her head as much as she could, which wasn't much because her head never left the Doctor's body. "I was always so uptight."

"You were just...deeply committed to a specific way of doing things," the Doctor cleverly rearranged the words despite it still meaning the same thing for her. "You wanted things done the right way."

"Doesn't mean it was always the best way," she hardly tilted her head up to be able to look at him. "You were always better at that. Better at being a good person than me."

"Oh don't say that Renée. You were an amazing woman on Gallifrey. Everybody loved you, including me," he brought a hand to stroke the warm skin of her cheek. "Only you had a charity, only you thought of helping people. The rest...the rest were always so pompous. There was no one like you."

Renata smiled and once more rested her head against his chest. "But I still had my moments. Do you remember…" she paused to catch her breath, "Do you remember when-when I ordered a shipment of special Valerian glasses for an event and they brought me the wrong type?"

The Doctor tilted his head when he thought back to that moment. "Ah yes. I've never seen someone get so mad over a different type of _glass."_ Renata actually managed to laugh, something that relieved the Doctor. If she was able to laugh then it meant she was going to get better. "You yelled at the poor delivery guy until your face matched your ginger hair. You did that quite often, mind you. You had a temper. You threw things at people but no one would ever think that of you. Your first incarnation was a sneaky one, actually.

"What?" she momentarily frowned. "Sneaky? I was many things but being sneaky was never one of my talents."

"No, but you were," the Doctor insisted. "You were small and polite but God help anyone who made you mad." He specifically remembered the brief slips of her temper where she would actually _throw_ things at him. He didn't feel like that was something she should remember right now. He had no doubt that if she did remember, she would started apologizing like there was no tomorrow. "And I would know because I got you plenty mad." His arms wrapped around her a little tight suddenly. "I loved it sometimes, you know. Apart from it being funny, you would look so adorable."

Renata rolled her eyes under his chin. "You're an idiot. You actually liked it when I yelled at you? I literally wanted to kill you sometimes."

"Not like you could've done much. You were too small!"

"If I could hit you, I would."

The Doctor leaned back to be able to meet her gaze. "And you always made the same threats."

"Was that 'adorable' too?"

"In a way," he answered particularly quietly. Her eyes met his and realized he wasn't truly looking at her, at least not the entire time. His eyes would meet hers but then would linger below her, to her lips.

They were actually pretty close but up until now Renata hadn't thought about it. She only knew that she was nice and warm with him. It was how she always felt with him, so at home. "We can't," she whispered, knowing exactly where his thoughts were...because her mind was quick to jump to the same things.

"It seems like we never can." His words rang a sad truth between them, but there was one big difference that he didn't think of back on Gallifrey.

"If things don't work out for me, I don't want to hurt you again."

"There was always a risk of heartbreak for us," he countered with more of their truth. "In the end. And we took the risk—"

"—and we _lost."_

"But the thing about it, Renée, is that I just don't care. I'll always play the game even if there's heartbreak in the end, which is why I'll go ahead and kiss you right now without a care of what comes next." Keeping true to his word, he closed the small gap between them with a soft kiss. He brought one of his hands to cup the side of her face, partially to tilt her head back but the other reason being he simply loved to touch her skin. He always did.

Renata could resist all she wanted but the truth was that she loved it. She loved feeling his fingers touch her skin, she always did. She loved his warm lips over hers, moving along in such a sweet, slow rhythm. It was like he had her in a trance. He led and she followed without a moment's thought.

Like right now.

Her hands had somehow gone up to his neck to rest. Her fingers soon found his hair and only then did she realize he had amazing hair to _pull_. Soon as she concluded that, her fingers did the work. And with each pull, their kiss became harder. Each time she pulled his hair, the Doctor would pull her body closer to his even though there was no more room left. Their bodies firmly pressed against each other and it still wasn't _enough_. It was as if their feelings for one another had been reignited and they were the young couple Time Lords back on Gallifrey, in Zuriah's charity. One was reckless, one was far too careful but when they were together, they became one.

There was only one way they could end that type of kiss and Renata unintentionally found the way. She'd pulled away to take in some air. Only when she did, her eyes struggled to stay open. The Doctor knew what would happen before it actually did. She passed out, her body falling limp against his.

The Doctor held her tightly there for a few minutes. He dropped a kiss to her hair and despite his efforts, he couldn't help the tears in his eyes. He was scared. He was really, properly scared that this was an indication the "big bang" was finally coming.

~ 0 ~

After Gabby's unveiling, Renata felt like time was passing quicker but in short intervals. Her eyes would open and she would be lucid for what seemed forever, only to everyone else around her it was just a few minutes where she actually talked. The most Renata had been awake after Gabby's party was 15 minutes. And Renata had spent those 15 minutes asking where the Doctor was.

"Ren, you need to calm down," Gabby would try her best each time. Though weakened, Renata still had more strength than a human and would manage to push Gabby's hands away a few times. She would lose the battle against Zhe with her four arms, but it wouldn't stop her from asking dozens of questions.

"Your body is entering a sort of, uh, reset phase," Zhe didn't exactly know how to best tell Renata that her body was beginning to shut down. Granted the Doctor had already told Renata this but the Time Lady couldn't remember after passing out so many times.

"Reset…?" Renata felt her lungs were squished. Breathing became a struggle soon enough.

A few days later, they had planted an oxygen mask over her. Despite Renata's insistence that she had a bypass system, the truth was that her lungs were shutting down. The vortex energy inside her was getting to an unbearable level. It was destroying her from the inside but now she wasn't even expelling the energy. Every once in a while she would release wisps of golden-orange hues but nobody was sure if it was the Vortex or regeneration energy.

"Could this be it? Is she going to regenerate?" Gabby quietly asked the Doctor one day in Renata's room while they watched over her sleeping form. To their luck, Renata hadn't woken up that day. It meant she was resting fully.

"I don't know," the Doctor hated that most of the questions regarding Renata's body ended with him saying he didn't know. What kind of "Doctor" was he if he couldn't help out the most important woman to him?

"She's been like this for a month now but I feel like now it's worse," sighed Gabby. "What can we do for her?"

The Doctor passed a gentle hand over Renata's cool forehead. "Just make sure she's as comfortable as she can be. I'm going to take a thorough absence from this place." He looked up at Gabby's confused face and explained. "I need to research if something like this has ever happened before. How could just find one similar case, even if it wasn't someone from our same species, then maybe I could come up with a cure. At the very least, there has to be some type of procedure that I can do to make this stop. No more going out on trips until Renata is cured. I can drop you off on Earth if you'd like while I do this-"

Gabby's eyebrows knitted together as a fierce anger crossed her face. "Don't you dare!" she snapped. " I'm going to stay right here with her until you get back."

"Gabby, it could be a while." Although the Doctor wasn't sure if Renata would make it for "a while" if he didn't hurry up. She already had gone through 6 months of this. "I can't leave you here."

"Doctor, it's my choice. I understand the risks but I want to be here with Renata. Besides, wouldn't you feel better if I stayed with Renata?"

The Doctor didn't want to straight up say yes but...it was true. There was only a select few people he could trust to look after Renata and Gabby was one of them. Zhe would offer her full support but Gabby sticking around would mean an easier communication through the TARDIS.

"Are you sure, Gabby?"

Gabby nodded her head. "Yes, Doctor. I'll stay."

"Thank you." The Doctor gazed down at Renata and sighed. Already he could feel his hearts constricting at the idea of going months without seeing her. There wasn't another way, though. He would just have to work really hard so that it wouldn't be so long. "I'll be back," he whispered to her. He leaned closer to her and gently stroked her cheek. "I promise." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and took one last look at her before straightening up to leave.

"I'll take care of her," Gabby reassured him as he moved away from the bed.

"If anything bad happens, or is about to happen, use this," the Doctor pulled out Renata's sonic screwdriver. "I've tweaked it so that it works like a pager. You press this—" he showed Gabby the precise button she would need to push, "—and I'll know you want to speak. I'm keeping Martha's phone in case she or Jack come up with something I can use for Renée."

"Got it," Gabby took the sonic from him and held it to her chest. "Good luck, Doctor."

"Likewise," he nodded. He spared Renata one last glance then forced himself to walk out of the room.

That would be the last time Gabby (and Renata) would see him for a very long time.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ladies and gentlemen we have reached the finale of the story. There are 3 more chapters after this and then the story wraps up! So excited for it and to move onto the next story!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	30. Running To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor has made the worst possible mistake a Time Lord can make. He can't bring himself to face Renata even when she's so close to death so when he gets pulled back to Earth to face the Master one last time before his death, the Doctor takes it without a second though. But would Renata ever let him run on his own again?

**6 months after Gabby's unveiling.**

The Doctor had heard the screwdriver ping several times but there was _so much_ going on. At first, he didn't answer because there was a unique distress call coming from Mars. He told himself he'd only pop in, make sure everything was going according to Time, and then he would see what Gabby needed. But when what he finally thought the Mars trip was a done deal, things went terribly _wrong_. He'd gone too far on his own. He always knew that he couldn't be alone, but he still fell. And this time he'd fallen too deep to be rescued. The bells were ringing and death was coming for him.

It scared him to the bone. How could he face Renata after his monumental screw up? She was always so proper, so law abiding, and he had broken their biggest law. She would hate him. She would hate him for real this time.

But the sonic kept pinging, and pinging…

With another sigh, Gabby lowered the sonic in her hand and looked back to where the glowing golden energy was swallowing up her friend. "He's not answering," she shook her head.

Zhe was at Renata's bedside, gripping Renata's left hand while the Time Lady writhed in pain. "I don't think she's going to last much longer."

Gabby bit her lower lip until she drew blood. Zhe was absolutely right. She didn't understand why the Doctor wasn't calling back. The few times that she'd paged him, he'd been very dutiful and returned the call within minutes. What could he possibly be doing right now that was more important than Renata!?

"C-can't hold it…" Renata groaned loudly and twisted her body to each side every minute. "I'm going to…"

"Don't use up your energy," Zhe tried calming her by passing her hand through Renata's hair. She didn't pull away when she realized how damp Renata's hair had become.

"There's no energy left!" Renata cried out in pain. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to think of anything but her impending death. She could feel it this time. It was a proper ending. Her entire body was on fire and unlike all the times before, she wasn't expelling it on the spot. Her head was pounding too. The Time Vortex inside her was making everything in her mind feel like it was being crammed. That was definitely new too. The Time Vortex was mixing, at the very least, with the other energy invading her body and if she didn't regenerate then it would be a real, proper death.

Gabby's heart broke hearing her friend crying in what had to be agonizing pain. She rushed to Renata's other side and took her hand, gripping it as tightly as Zhe was. "You'll be okay, I promise!"

Renata forced herself to open her eyes and see Gabby for the last time. "Oh Gabriella, this is it. This is my goodbye."

"No, no, don't say that," Gabby's eyes filled with tears. "The Doctor probably has a cure already and he's on his way."

"There's nothing left to do," Renata hissed as she felt a new piercing pain cutting through her stomach. "I'm...I'm not sure about regeneration so...so I just...need to thank you for being here. Both of you," she glanced at Zhe. "I don't want to die alone. The last time I died, I did it all by myself and I died during the war. I think maybe that's why this life was never a good one. I died in a war and I was reborn from a war. This life was useless. I never knew how to live happily. I was a nuisance."

"No you weren't," Gabby wanted Renata to laugh with her, to banter until Gabby could convince Renata that she was a good person.

Renata scrunched her face and whimpered. "I don't want to die without the Doctor. I had hope that…" she swallowed hard, "I had hope that maybe I would get a second chance..." Her body seemed to jerk forwards but she didn't have the strength to actually sit up. Instead, gold energy wafted from her body. Renata wanted to hope that it was regeneration energy trying to heal her body. "I need the Doctor," she closed her eyes as tears pooled in them, "I want him here with me. I want him holding my hand, telling me that he's going to make everything better even though I would argue that he couldn't. I want him here…" She gagged only to release more energy. "I need him here...I love him."

"Oh Ren," Gabby felt a deep fury ripple through her at the Doctor's tardiness. Where the hell was he!? Renata looked like a scared kid. Gabby didn't know what to do.

But then she heard something from a distance...a wheezing noise…

Gabby's anger was forgotten in a snap when she heard the beautiful noise of the TARDIS. "Oh he's here! Renata, he's here!" she left a sloppy kiss on Renata's hand and dashed for the door. "Doctor! Doctor!" she yelled all the way down the hall, and to the TARDIS. But she nearly crashed into the door when somebody opened it inches from her face. Gabby fervently shook her head and blinked fast to get her sight back. When she did, she saw who had come. "...Doctor?"

~0~

**Earth, 2010.**

He was back.

He was back and he was ready to cause havoc wherever he went.

The Doctor thought himself a quick-paced man most of the time. But right now, as he chased after the Master, he seemed like the slowest man in the universe.

The Master - mighty disheveled and even crazier than the last time he'd shown up - ran through a dumpsite. He roared with all his might, letting his voice echo through the dumpsite, before he leaped into the air and landed on a pile of dirt. He stood on his spot, laughing maniacally, and allowed the Doctor to witness his newest abilities. Electricity as it seemed, crackled and shifted his body to a skeleton for a brief moment.

"Please, let me help! You're burning up your own life force!" the Doctor begged to him in vain. The Master jumped off the mountain of trash and continued to run. The Doctor intended on doing the same thing but he was suddenly surrounded by humans.

Wilfred Noble was responsible for it. He'd engineered an entire search party to find the Doctor, and Renata, and was glad to have found at least one of them. The Doctor was bombarded by everyone suddenly around him. He wanted to keep following the Master but it was no use. He was long gone. Now he had to deal with Wilf, and a handsy human. Eventually, he gave in and followed Wilf to some cafe shop more close to the city. With any luck, he might get an idea on how to better catch the Master. His mind spiraled with so many thoughts.

Wilf was nervous pi is himself and that mildly grabbed the Doctor's attention. "I keep seeing things, Doctor, I...this face at night." He continued having horrible nightmares at night, nightmares that seemed relentless to terrify him each night. He didn't know what else to do but find the Doctor and Renata and get them to help him and everyone else having the same nightmares.

"Who are you?" the Doctor suddenly asked him, fixating a suspicious gaze on the man.

"I'm Wilfred Mott," Wilf answered with a light smile.

"No, people have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours." The Doctor didn't want to point out that not even Gabby had managed to find him and she had Renata and the sonic. Sometimes, a coincidence isn't one at all.

"Well, I'm just lucky, I s'pose," Wilf gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again, like something's still connecting us."

"Yeah, but what's so important about me?"

"Exactly. Why you?" the Doctor muttered not so quietly and he knew it. If Renata was around, she would've scolded him for being blatantly rude. _Renata._ His hearts ached knowing that she was so far away from him and...that _he_ might not see her again. This him had expended all his time and what had he done with it? Nothing. He hadn't found anything to help Renata, not even a bit. She was in agonizing pain and right now he wasn't even dedicating his time to find a cure for her. The Master was using that up. He was using his last moments to find the Master.

"Doctor, I've been meaning to ask," Wilf unknowingly yanked the Doctor out of his thoughts. "Where's Renata? I thought she'd be round by that box of yours." But she had yet to make an appearance.

Something flashed over the Doctor's face and Wilf wasn't sure if it was guilt or despondence. Either way, it was grim and overwhelming the Time Lord.

"I'm going to die," the Doctor finally confessed. If he was lucky, Wilf wouldn't completely grasp the implications...not like Renata would, or even Gabby. He had come across the final warning that his ending was near just after making the biggest mistake of his life. He'd crossed the line and this was his punishment.

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf said, not truly understanding like the Doctor assumed.

"Don't you dare," he warned, almost finding it in him to chuckle.

"All right, I'll try not to."

The Doctor inhaled deeply and leaned his arms over the table. "Renata is far away right now. She's sick and I was supposed to help her, but I haven't been able to live up to my word. No, instead I went out and did something really bad. Something that, if someone had been with me like Renata, maybe I wouldn't have done at all." That's who he was, somebody who couldn't be on his own anymore. The darkness inside him only waited for his friends to leave in order to come out and wreck things.

"Where is she?" asked Wilf out she curiosity and concern.

"On a planet very far away from here." The Doctor exhaled heavily. "I was told. 'He will knock four times.' That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then…"

"But I thought when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body…?"

"I can still die. If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead. Even then. Even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away. And I'm dead." And a new man will go and find Renata and give her what he couldn't. Maybe the next him would find the cure and heal Renata, like a true doctor.

"Hmm…" Wilf's gaze drifted to the window, specifically at something across the street.

"What?" the Doctor picked up on it and followed Wilf's gaze out the window. There he saw his best friend, Donna Noble, heading down the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry. But I had to. Look, can't you make her better?" Wilf desperately asked. Part of his reason to conduct his search for the Doctor and Renata was to help Donna be the happiest she could be. "You're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back? Look, just go to her now, go on. Just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

The Doctor would want nothing more than that. He would give anything to go back and travel with Donna, Gabby and Renata all together like the little family they'd become. "If she ever remembers me, her mind will burn, and she will die."

"Don't you touch this car!" Donna's loud yell made both men laugh. She was having a go at a parking meter employee in regards to her car.

"She's not changed," the Doctor remarked with a smile.

"Nah. Oh, there he is…" Wilf nodded to a dark skinned man who had joined Donna and was holding her shopping bags. "Shawn Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding." The Doctor was happy to know that Donna was at least living a good life without them. Something needed to go right after all the chaos that happened. "Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple? Sounds like a tourist spot."

"No, it's Temple-Noble."

"Right. Is she happy? Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face. Like she's so sad, but she can't remember why."

"But she's got him," the Doctor said, sparing the window another glance. Donna had just stopped talking to a dark-haired woman on the street. "That's all she needs." God knew one person could make a huge difference in one's life. And right now, his person was light years away.

Unknowingly, the same woman Donna had been talking to walked into the cafe. She went directly up to the counter and greeted the current waitress. They had a few words that prompted the woman to look around until she found the Doctor. She froze for a moment after catching his eye. He tilted his at her, eyes scrutinizing her appearance as she started walking towards their table.

"What is it?" Wilf turned slightly in the booth to see what the Doctor was looking at.

The young woman stopped by their table, wearing a warm smile across her face. Her dark brown - almost black - hair cascaded down her shoulders, stopping shortly above her elbows. There was a bright white flower tucking behind her left ear. She was a bit light skinned as if she was sun tanned. Her eyes were dark but there was a lighter shade right in the center of her irises. She wore a flower patterned dress with a few buttons going down her chest, the top one left unbuttoned.

"Can we help you?" the Doctor asked her, getting a faint feeling that he was supposed to know her from somewhere.

The woman smiled but said nothing. Instead, she reached for a necklace around her neck - the Doctor hadn't even realized she was wearing one! She unfastened it and let it gently fall to the table. The Doctor only briefly studied it before he got a tingling sensation in his head. It was the same as the Master. He looked up at the woman with widened eyes. As the seconds passed, the sensation got stronger, _deeper_ , until he started seeing things.

_1914._ John Smith had just bumped into Renata Cartwright.

Then they were on the Titanic dancing sweetly moments before they would argue.

They met Donna, then Gabby, and they visited Zhe's gallery. Butterflies, so many butterflies clouded his mind.

The Doctor's body jumped from the booth, hitting his side on the corner of the table in the process but it didn't register to him. He faced the woman and re-scrutinized her whole body. She reached up to his ear, maybe slightly less, which wasn't that big of a difference from her last body…

When he met her eyes, he realized they were both teary. Although his teariness stemmed from a very dark spot and hers was a happy one.

"Hello, Doctor. I'm glad I finally found you," she whispered.

" _Renata_?" He suddenly had no air in that bypass system of his. When she gave a confirming nod, he nearly crumpled in pain. "You regen...you regenerated!?"

Renata hated to nod again but she did. He looked ready to fall so she quickly dove to hold and hug him. "N-n-n-no, Doctor! It's fine! It's fine! Look at me!" she cupped his face and sweetly smiled at him. "Look at me," she whispered. "I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm okay."

Few tears rolled down the Doctor's cheeks. "I failed you …"

"No, you didn't," Renata fervently shook her head. "You did everything you could but my time was up. I only got time to say goodbye." The Doctor's head wanted to lower but Renata had a firm grip on him. "Doctor, it's okay. I'm okay now." But he failed her, he was seeing her now. She had regenerated without him there at her side. No, he had been too busy running from his mistake. "Doctor, stop it," Renata scolded lightly.

Their minds were still connected, for the moment and she was seeing all of his mistakes... _all_ of them. When the Doctor realized this, his head hung low this time. He was ashamed and embarrassed. Renata wouldn't want anything to do with him. And she would be right. He failed her so many times.

Renata's thumbs cleared the tears off his face. "Shh, I'm here. I'm here for you." She raised his head so that she could see his eyes. "And it looks like there's trouble aboard so…" she kissed his nose and lifted his head so that he would straighten up. "Let's get to work." She fixed his tie until it was straight. The Doctor nodded but it was done mainly out of instinct.

Renata looked past him and smiled at Wilf. "Nice to see you again, Wilf. I just talked to Donna - just a bit - and she seems like herself."

Wilf stared at her, logically confused until he could find his words. "You're…Renata?"

Renata nodded. "Yes. Look a bit different now, which is why I took advantage and snuck to see Donna. Broke a rule." She chuckled to herself and missed the Doctor's stunned face beside her.

She...broke a rule?

"But are you alright?" Wilf stood up from the booth and, like the Doctor, looked Renata over. If she changed her face then it meant she'd _died_.

"I am just fine, Wilf," Renata nodded. "But you aren't. I hear there are some bad dreams you're having?" Wilf nodded affirmatively. "Well, you did the right thing trying to find us. Tell you what, you go on home and we'll do a few things on our own for a couple hours."

"But I don't-"

Renata put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I promise you that we will be back. There's just a couple things I'd like to discuss with the Doctor in private."

"You promise?" Wilf was more inclined to believe the woman, but he still wanted to hear her say it.

Renata went as far as raising her hand when she promised him again. It proved true to Wilf and so he felt confident enough to leave the cafe knowing that they would find him again. It left Renata an open spot on his side of the booth. She slid in and smiled casually as she picked up a menu from the table's rack. Her eyes gazed over the menu, humming a tune like she was truly there for breakfast or lunch. The Doctor only stared at her, trying to figure something out.

But once again, Renata knew.

"It _is_ me, and I _did_ regenerate." Her eyes flickered from the menu to meet his. Her lips slightly pulled for a wider smile. "I'm not going to lie I still have a headache but I think...I think with some time the Time Vortex will finally find a stabilizing level."

"But the other energy—"

"May have combined with the Time Vortex during my regeneration. Isn't it ironic?" Renata lowered the menu to the table. "I had to die in order to have a chance to live. All my regeneration energy managed to ease the outrageous levels of toxins in my body and I think, if we check later on, it might be forming a new stabilized energy."

"But you _died_ …" the Doctor could barely string the two words together. All he knew was that he missed her death. She must have been so lonely...

"Yes, I did but I didn't die alone." She was still reading his mind. It was rude but for the moment she would leave it open until he got everything off his chest. Plus, it was kind of nice having his presence inside her head. "I had Gabby and I had Zhe...and I had somebody else." Her hand reached the white flower resting behind her ear. The Doctor saw the movement and couldn't help question the gentle stroke she gave it, like it was so precious to her. "I admit I was scared. I wasn't sure if I would make it through regeneration but...here I am."

"I'm so sorry, Renée," the Doctor barely got to say when Renata grabbed his hands on the table.

"No, no, you don't have to apologize for anything."

The Doctor swallowed a lump in his throat while he shook his head. "No, I should have been there like I promised! I told Gabby I would call back whenever she paged! I told her I would do it...but instead I made a huge mistake."

Renata's face softened as his grew deeper into a dark grimness. "Oh Doctor, I know what you have done. I know it all. You don't have to be ashamed. It was a decision that pushed you to the edge. Everyone has that moment."

"You would never," the Doctor said with the utmost certainty. It brought new tears to his eyes. Renata would never make such a terrible decision that would break all the rules their people stood by. He was never going to reach her level; he never had. He started below her and he would never be good enough for her.

Renata knew every thought of his right now and there was such a determination to prove him wrong, it shocked her...but it didn't deter her. "I'm not a proper Time Lady, Doctor. I have made my own choices that aren't becoming of our people."

" _You_?" the Doctor almost laughed at the idea, but Renata was quite serious.

"Yes." Renata nervously licked her lips before she continued. "I've been afraid of telling you this for a while, Doctor. It's one of my most shameful secrets, but you deserve to know that I'm not as proper and classy as you think I am. At the end of my time in the Time War, I was brought into the High Council. Word had spread that you had stolen the Moment." Once more, the Doctor's head fell in shame. "And my sister had formed a plan. The Assessor had disclosed my affair with you to the Council and they theorized that I could get you to stop from using it."

"But you never came…" the Doctor only raised his head to give her a puzzled look. His memories were a bit fuzzy in that life but he knew exactly what he did in the end.

"I didn't," Renata agreed with fresh tears glistening in her eyes. "The Assessor made an offer to me. ' _Find the Doctor, take the Moment back and the High Council will grant you a new regeneration cycle_ '."

The Doctor's eyes widened. The High Council was always strict about their regeneration cycle. Twelve and no more. Once your number was up, your number was _up_. There was no getting around it unless there was a _really_ good reason behind it, but even those were rare.

"But I convinced them to give me the new cycle first," Renata went on. Now it was her gaze that was slowly falling. "I told them that I would find you and that I would take the Moment back...but I needed the new cycle first. I only had 2 left. One left," she added for her current state. "And so they did. I was granted a whole new regeneration cycle and I was sent on my way to find you with the promise that I wouldn't let Gallifrey be destroyed."

"But you never…" the Doctor whispered and trailed off when Renata sniffled.

"I lied to them. I was so angry with them all. They plunged our planet into bloody war where I lost my entire family. I had lost my parents, Elek...my unborn child. I lost everything and nobody up in the high ranks seemed to care." A deep, still raw, fury rippled through Renata as if those events had just happened yesterday. It made her body shake from such a feeling that the Doctor had to grip her hands already around his. She exhaled deeply and found courage to look at him. "I wanted them to pay. And I wanted my sister to pay for what she did to us. So I took the new cycle and I ran away. I escaped and I let you do what you did. So you see, Doctor? I'm not proper, I don't follow all the rules. I've made my own terrible choice. You don't dare be ashamed with me because I don't care. I know who you are and nothing has changed."

The Doctor was stunned, astonished even, to hear such a story and that Renata was the protagonist of it. He studied her sweet nature, a nature that had turn slightly less grim than her last incarnation, and simply couldn't see her doing it. "You…?"

Renata nodded her head. "Oh yeah. Lied straight to their faces. I took what I thought I was owed and I ran."

"Do you regret it?"

Renata raised her eyebrows. "I regret lying to my sister but I don't regret taking the extra cycle. I never got to live. The irony is that even with the extra cycle, I still don't know how to live." She wouldn't get lost in that right now, though, not when she knew what was at stake. "So," she straightened up in her spot, "I know the Master's around here. We should find him."

"How do you know?" the Doctor asked then realized he had no idea how she even got to Earth without the TARDIS. "And how did you get here?"

A secret smile spread across Renata's face. "Somebody brought me. He told me everything that was going on. That's why I understand you couldn't return Gabriella's call."

"You're not going to tell me how you got here, are you?" the Doctor knew the answer from that wide, almost teasing, smile on her face. It was a rare sight because Renata never teased...at least not in her last life. _Previous_ life. He swallowed hard.

"It's fine, Doctor," Renata told him again.

"Where's Gabby?"

"I left her with Zhe. If the Master truly is here and something is going wrong with Time then I wanted Gabriella to be far away from here." Renata briefly gazed at the menu in front of her and lamented that they wouldn't be able to order. "You know, I think this body is going to really like pancakes. I've never had them while I was hiding on Earth. Pancakes. Hopefully later." She slid out of the booth then held a hand out for the Doctor. He was practically in awe of her more carefree demeanor. His stunned face made her chuckle. "I know, I'm surprised myself," she said as she grabbed his closest hand and gently made him slide out of the booth.

They left the cafe hand in hand and since they had no TARDIS to get around, they settled for walking. They followed their senses to find the Master and it eventually brought them into a warehouse of some sort. It was near the dumpsite, something that made them wonder why the Master would choose such an...interesting site to reside in. He was, after all, Harold Saxon at one point.

"My nose is definitely more sensitive now," Renata crinkled her nose as they crossed further towards the warehouse. There were piles of trash and of course, being the Doctor, he had climbed the biggest one he could find. Renata sighed and watched him take a spot at the top. "Do you see…?" but she trailed off when she got a specific type of tingle.

He was near.

Renata whipped her head to the left and saw a figure coming towards them. He wore a hoodie but with the hood down. For a few seconds, the Master didn't acknowledge Renata's presence. Instead, he fired an electric beam of energy towards the Doctor, but missed.

"Stop that!" Renata yelled in outrage. They hadn't even been in the same spot for a minute when already there was a fight.

The Doctor rushed down the pile of dirt, thinking Renata would be the next target but the Master was solely focused on him for the time being. Again he shot and this time the Doctor took the blow against the chest.

"Doctor!" Renata exclaimed and dashed to help him off the ground.

The Master then sent a wave of energy at her, purposely missing so that it would only force her into a skidded stop. "Always coming to save him, aren't you?" Renata's face was a deep scowl and it was a shame it was already learning the marks considering it was only hours new. "New face," the Master remarked, barely giving her a look. "What? You thought going younger might do something for him?" his nod at the Doctor evoked a pure hatred from Renata.

"You're maniacal."

"And you're a cheater."

Renata felt anger bubble inside of her, making her fingers twitch, but it wasn't the normal type of anger she would get. It made her feel kind of sick, actually, like something was swirling inside her stomach.

The Master was satisfied with her silent reaction and so he turned for the Doctor on the ground. The latter was attempting to stand but that energy was stronger than he thought.

"Your resurrection went wrong," he strained to say. "That energy... Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

But the Master didn't look very concerned with his situation. He turned towards the sight of the city and grinned. "And that's human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine! Hot, fat, blood food!" Renata grimaced at his frantic, spitting description. "Pots, plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice. And baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot!"

"Oh my God, stop!" Renata yelled, demanded, but the Master seemed to be on automatic. The words kept coming out.

"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!" the Master sucked in a sharp breath and that seemed to get him some control back.

"What if we ask you for help?" the Doctor knew with that question he would at least buy them 30 seconds of his attention. Of course he didn't see Renata's reluctant expression over his decision. "There's more at work tonight than you and us."

' _Are you sure asking him to help us is a good idea?'_

The Doctor flinched when he heard Renata's soft voice in his head. He couldn't help but shoot her his stunned look. She could understand his reaction, given her behavior in the past when it came to this precise ability, but the situation called for it.

' _We're in trouble, Doctor. I will not stand in the way because I don't want you to peek into my mind. You know me now and all my secrets. There's nothing left to hide.'_ Renata was at peace with that, and she could only wait for the Doctor to fully grasp the fact she'd lied about being 'proper'. They would have to discuss that later when everything was over.

The Doctor gave her a nod then returned to the conversation with the Master. "I've been told something is returning."

The Master raised his arms to present himself. "And here I am!"

"No, it was something more."

That was a disappointment. The Master's arms dropped but his hands soon found his head after a particular jab of pain struck him. "But it hurts."

"I was told the end of time…"

"It hurts, Doctor, the noise...the noise in my head, Doctor!" the Master bobbed his head at a tune that only he could hear. "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four,

stronger than ever before! Can't you hear it?"

"We really can't," Renata said quietly from her spot. Even though the Master was crazy, she always believed him about the drums in his head. There was no way anyone could fake that type of insanity.

"Just listen!" the Master practically barked at them for silence. "Listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is...calling to me. Please, listen!"

"We can't hear it," the Doctor told him.

The Master groaned in frustration and stalked towards the Doctor, ignoring Renata's cry for him to stop. He grabbed the Doctor's head and pressed their foreheads together. For a split second there, the Doctor heard the famous drums drumming away...nonstop.

He shoved the Master away with a face of horror. "But that's…!"

"You heard it?" Renata blinked at the Doctor, wondering if perhaps the Master had tampered with his mind.

' _No, it was **there**_ ,' the Doctor promised her, his eyes still glued to the Master. ' _He truly does hear something.'_

Well, that changed things. Renata took a stride towards the two men and pulled the Master to her. "There can't actually be a noise in your head so-so…" she couldn't begin to comprehend the layers that went behind that 'noise'. She was flabbergasted and it showed on her face. "What is inside your head, then?"

The Master pulled his arm out of his grip to laugh as if he'd finally won something. "It's real! It's real! It's REAL!" he suddenly launched himself into the sky, as if it were that easy, and landed at the top of a pile of dirt and rock. "All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, what is it? What is it? What is it?"

"If we knew, you wouldn't be up there!" frowned Renata. "Now get down!"

They were suddenly taken over by the whirring blades of a helicopter coming towards them. A beam of light struck down over the Master, then the Doctor and then Renata. Two ropes swung down the air, allowing for two men to rappel down. Between them, they tranquilized the Master and hoisted him up.

"No, stop!" the Doctor dashed for the pile, as if he would ever catch them in time.

Two other soldiers appeared in the area, one of them forcing Renata to put her hands up while the other started firing at the Doctor. The Master was taken before the Doctor ever reached him, but even then somebody got the idea to smack him unconscious.

"If you hit me with that I swear to God you'll regret it," Renata pointed a warning finger at the soldier holding the gun on her. The soldier didn't appear that intimidated, but they did leave her be.

When she could, Renata rushed to the Doctor's side. She called his name twice before seeing the mark of the smack on the left side of his face. It was deep enough to keep him out for a decent amount of time.

~ 0 ~

By the time the Doctor came to, it was nearly dawn. But the strangest thing was that he wasn't even outside. He was inside the TARDIS, his body unceremoniously sprawled over the Captain's chair.

"What the—" he gave a jump and nearly fell to the floor.

"Please don't hurt yourself," Renata poked her head around the console. "It took me a good deal to drag you to that chair. You're heavier than you look."

The Doctor briefly paused to shoot her a mock-glare. "Thanks." He straightened himself up a minute afterwards and brought a hand to his head, precisely over the spot he'd been smacked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't touch that," Renata said after catching him wince. "They got you really good, not that I'm complimenting the enemy. That's what you do." For the second time, the Doctor mock-glared at her. "Sorry," Renata bit her lip and awkwardly smiled at him.

"How'd you find the TARDIS?" he asked after realizing she had to have gone off in the night to find the box while he'd been unconscious.

"With enormous difficulty," Renata leaned her body forwards on the console and sighed. She had to wander through the streets, following her senses to find the TARDIS and it involved a certain degree of thinking like the Doctor. She came to the conclusion that she wasn't meant to think like the Doctor.

"You didn't think to check my mind for the location?"

"That's rude," she said matter-of-factly.

So, not everything had changed in her. She was still cautious about rules. The Doctor strode to her side and gazed at the monitor she'd been working at. "How long has it been?"

"It's nearly morning and I've got nothing," Renata admitted with frustration. "Whoever took him knows exactly how to hide his, well, Time Lord sense. I couldn't do it and the TARDIS couldn't do it. What else can we do?"

The Doctor considered every last option they had which, honestly, wasn't a lot. Although, there was one option he bet Renata hadn't thought about. He wouldn't have thought about it either because it was a minuscule thing, so small that Renata wouldn't consider it important.

"I've got one idea," he said and prepared the console for their next destination.

~ 0 ~

" _This_ was your idea?" Renata had her arms folded and one of her feet was tapping against the cement. They stood just across the street from Donna's house, waiting for Wilf to come out.

"He's got to be involved," the Doctor insisted but Renata scoffed so deeply that it actually made him wince. She also retained the same - if not stronger - scolding voice too.

"He is a human who just got lucky!"

"Exactly. How many humans can get lucky finding _me_?"

"Well I found you twice and I wasn't very happy about it." Renata kept her eyes locked on Donna's house in case Donna might pop out and they had to hide. The Doctor, on his part, glared at her again. So this incarnation had more tongue. Something to look forward to.

Eventually, Wilf came out of the house but he crossed the street in a rush. "Listen, you can't park there, what if Donna sees it?"

"So she _is_ in the house?" Renata shot the Doctor another disapproving look. "See? It's much too dangerous."

"Oh give me a break, you talked to her!" went the Time Lord.

"Yeah, with a new face and for like 2 minutes! That was all I was ever going to get!"

"Listen!" Wilf spoke over the two before things got more heated. "You really can't be here! Can't you move that thing?"

The Doctor shook his head at Renata and turned to Wilf, getting straight to the reason they were there. "You're the only one, Wilf. The only connection I can think of. You're involved. If I could work out how. Tell me, have you seen anything? I don't know. Anything strange, anything odd?" Wilf made a face initially, ready to say 'no' when something popped into his head. "What, what is it?" the Doctor caught onto his expression fast. He'd been right. "Tell us!"

"I mean, it could be nothing…" Wilf said, for a second believing he was being ridiculous. How could a _book_ be important?

"Think, think, think! Maybe something out of the blue. Connected to your life, something!"

"Alright, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?"

Wilf said nothing and instead hurried back towards the house.

"See? Told you!" the Doctor smugly smirked at Renata who groaned in return.

"You're ridiculous!" she went after Wilf instead.

The Doctor followed her and while Wilf went inside the house, the two Time Lords moved towards the back to wait for him. When the man returned, he held a book in his hand.

"Here you are, his name's Joshua Naismith!" Wilf pointed to the dark-skinned man on the front cover of the book.

"That's the man!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I was shown him, by the Ood."

"By the what?" Wilf asked, no hope of understanding that bit.

Renata took the book from Wilf's hands and examined the front cover. Joshua Smith certainly seemed human. She checked for the summary on the back and scowled. "Why would a human billionaire be important to this all of a sudden?"

"This is all part of the convergence, maybe…" the Doctor said, mildly lost in thoughts. "Maybe touching Donna's subconscious. Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now. The Doctor-Donna!"

A warm smile came to Renata's face, albeit sad in the end. "I miss her." Before the Doctor could say he did too, Sylvia emerged from the backdoor and nearly yelped at the sight of the pair.

"Get out of here!"

"Well, that's not a way to greet visitors," Renata lowered the book in her arms then frowned at Sylvia.

"She can't see you!"

"And a Merry Christmas to you," the Doctor sighed.

"Mum, where are those tweezers?" Donna's voice froze the group outside. It was as if the fact they froze would keep Donna from spotting them.

"Go!" Sylvia hissed at the pair.

"Yeah, alright, we're going," the Doctor grabbed Renata's arm and pulled them towards the street.

"Yeah, me, too!" Wilf declared and rushed after the pair, completely ignoring his daughter's hiss for her to stay where he was. In fact, it just made him run faster.

"Dad, I'm warning you!" Sylvia was hot on his trail when they were near the sidewalk.

"Bye, see you later!"

"Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor hurriedly unlocked the TARDIS. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Sylvia's personality, and he assumed neither was Renata. But he stopped when he heard Wilf's goodbye to Sylvia. "You can't come with us!"

"You're not leaving me with her!" Wilf responded, sounding more like a warning. He gave a nod to Sylvia who was yelling and coming towards them.

"Fair enough," the Doctor relented.

"Oh get in!" Renata pushed him in first then ushered Wilf after. "And you—" she called over to Sylvia, "—better be nice to Donna! My threat still stands!" She then went into the TARDIS, leaving behind the screaming human.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS eventually materialized in the mansion of Joshua, in a lab room. The Doctor walked out of the TARDIS with Wilf in tow. He only made it three steps from the TARDIS when Renata called for him to stop.

"Hey! You can't just walk out of the TARDIS without a plan!"

The Doctor turned around, not exactly surprised she had also kept that trait in this new incarnation. "I do have a plan," he argued but she scoffed loudly. "I _do."_

"Yeah, what is it?"

The Doctor shifted a bit and caught Wilf's amused stare. "We...are going to find the Master! There! That's the plan!" Renata huffed and crossed her arms. The Doctor pulled out a remote to lock the TARDIS completely. "Just a second out of sync. Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS, that's the last thing we need. Now c'mon!"

He led the way out of the room kept to the walls of the hallways until they could make their way outside. The mansion turned out to be an incredibly huge manor with multiple buildings in the property. They had to be careful while they came close to an archway but they were almost caught by two armed guards.

"That book said he's a billionaire. He's got his own private army," Wilf remarked after Renata's gawked expression.

"Down here," the Doctor used his sonic on a small door nearby to go into before the guards could catch them.

"I don't suppose you know where this is going to lead?" Renata asked as they crept down the hallway towards the only source of light.

"Uh, no, I do not," the Doctor shrugged. "But I thought it was better than being caught by the armed guards.

Renata would give him that.

As the trio neared the room they began to hear two voices of presumed employees. Before walking straight in, the Doctor did his due diligence - something Renata truly appreciated given the fact they had Wilf with them - and spotted a man and woman discussing over a particular device set up against a wall.

"Nice gate!" the Doctor startled the pair as he walked on in. "Look, sorry, don't call security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer. Cos I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."

The woman chuckled nervously as she glanced at her co-worker. "I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?"

"For a second, pretend we're not stupid," Renata said flatly. She would've been nice if they weren't on crunch time. The Master was somewhere in the building and these humans actually thought he was their prisoner. The Master was no one's prisoner. But the two technicians continued with the charade.

The woman, who went by Addams, laughed. "I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?"

With a straight face, Renata raised her sonic screwdriver (her dress had _pockets_!) at the woman and dismantled the disguise. She was a green woman with small spikes sticking out from her head. It gave Wilf a gasp. The Doctor was more stunned with the fact Renata had done that.

_'The Master is on the loose. I will_ _ **not**_ _let him hurt people again.'_ Renata said without making the smallest of expressions on her face. ' _I will apologize later.'_

Now that sounded like her. The Doctor put away his smile after a moment and got Addams to disclose everything they had on Joshua and his experiments. He and Renata surfed through their recent results but as much as they studied, they couldn't understand what this huge project was about.

"What are you doing!?" cried a man as he walked into the room to find the intruders.

This time it was the Doctor who took the disguise off and left another green skinned humanoid in its place. "Shimm-err!" Renata struggled hiding her smile. "Now tell me, quickly, what's going on, the Master, Harold Saxon? Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

The man, Rossiter, helplessly glanced at Addams for some type of explanation. She was beyond trying to stop them. "But I checked the readings. He's done good work. It's operational!"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean it'll do whatever you think it'll do," Renata turned around and looked him and Addams over. "And I'm sorry but who _are_ you? We met another you but, uh, he was a bit small and quite red."

Addams seemed displeased by the comparison. "No, that's a Zocci!"

"We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci! Completely different!" the male Vinvocci exclaimed, sounding just as offended as his co-worker.

"Alright, sorry," Renata raised her hands over her chest to show she truly had meant no offence.

"And the Gate is Vinvocci. We're a salvage team!" Addams explained before they got any ideas that they were also intruding. "We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it, and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship."

"But what does it do?" the Doctor frantically waved a hand for them to start explaining the useful stuff.

"Well, it mends, it's a simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better!"

"No that won't do," Renata shook her head, confusing the two Vinvocci for a second. "The Master would never help fix a machine meant to heal people."

The Doctor agreed. "There's got to be more. Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal." He needed to figure it out before the machine was actually used.

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilf asked just to make sure he wasn't completely lost. He was still trying to get over the two cacti people.

"More or less," Addams said.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," Renata gave him credit where it was due. "Why is it so big?" She frowned when Addams scoffed at the condescendingly, as if they were neanderthals compared to them.

"It doesn't just mend one person at a time!"

Rossiter scoffed along with Addams. "That would be ridiculous!"

"It mends whole _planets!"_

That revation froze Renata and the Doctor. They simultaneously stared at the Vinvocci, not that their expressions would do anything for them.

"Yeah that'll do it," Renata gave a nod afterwards. That would definitely get the Master's attention.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population," Addams thought simplifying it further would get the two aliens to stop staring at her so wide-eyed. They looked like the bugs this planet had, the ones that buzzed so much. "What?" she asked when the two still hadn't taken their eyes off her.

The Doctor suddenly bolted from the room.

"What's going on!?" Addams called out but he was too far gone to even hear her.

"The Master, that's what," Renata sighed before breaking into a quick run herself.

The Doctor was good at what he did best, but not even his speedy legs could get him to the main room on time. The Gate was full on running and despite the Doctor's insistence to turn it off, nobody would listen to him. In fact, all he got were rifles aimed at him.

"No, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!" the Doctor desperately looked at the Master at the side of the room. The straight jacket on him meant nothing.

The Master seemed to agree with the Doctor's thoughts because he smirked. "Oh, like that was ever gonna happen." He destroyed the straightjacket with a burst of energy then leaped into the Gate with a scream. It forced everyone away out of sheer fear. "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!"

"Get out of there right now!" Renata ordered as soon as she ran inside. She was out of breath, more so than her last body but to be fair it had been mere hours since she regenerated. Her body strength wasn't entirely back yet.

"Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!" the Doctor ordered in vain again. Everyone just stood there.

"God, humans are so frustrating!" Renata exclaimed at everyone. The Doctor started to realize it wasn't so much that they weren't listening but that they _couldn't_.

"He's...inside my head," Naismith said, frantically rubbing the side of his face.

"Get out of there!" the Doctor snapped at the Master and was shot back in retaliation with an energy bolt.

"Uh, Doctor? Renata?" Wilf came into the room with a stumble. "There's this face…"

"What is it!?" the Doctor rushed to the man as a last resort. He and Renata weren't being affected by whatever the Master had done to the Gate. "What can you see!?"

Wilf shook his head like everyone else was, as if that would shake whatever inside. "Well, it's him. I can see him! I can see his face."

Renata noticed the television was on and whoever it was currently giving a speech seemed to be under the same situation. "Is that - is that the President of the United States!?"

The Doctor ran past her towards the gate to try and shut it all down but the Master had thought well ahead.

"I locked it you idiot!"

The Doctor knew it was useless so be did what he could. He ran back to Wilf and ran towards the booths, grabbing Renata along the way.

"What!?" Renata cried as she'd nearly fell on her own feet from such a sudden pull.

The Doctor pushed Wilf into one of the booths and then pulled Renata with him into the second booth mirroring Wilf's. "I just need to filter the levels so it won't affect us!"

"Could've said something instead of just yanking me away for the ride!" Renata huffed and assisted with the shields.

"Bit in a rush!" He exclaimed.

"Oh! I can see again. He's gone!" Wilf blinked rapidly out of relief. His mind was clear of that maniacal man!

"Radiation shielding. Now, press the button, let us out!" the Doctor pointed to the control pad on Wilf's side. Of course the human didn't understand at the first instruction.

"You what?"

"We can't get out until you press the button, that button there!"

"Oh, okay!" Wilf pressed the button the Doctor pointed to and allowed the two aliens to get out.

"50 seconds and counting!" the Master laughed deliriously at his grand plan.

"To what?" Renata demanded to know but he laughed.

"Ohhh, you're gonna love this!"

The Doctor once again went for the Gate in a last attempt to shut it down. For a moment, Renata wondered if putting a good smack against the Master's head might do some good.

_You're not a child,_ she berated herself. No, she wasn't. She rushed to help the Doctor again, thinking maybe between the two they could come up with a quick solution. Neither of them noticed Wilf accidentally pulling out his revolver while he meant to take his ringing cell phone out.

It was Donna calling, at first, frantic that everyone was acting weird. It both shocking and relieving to learn that she wasn't being affected. Soon after, a friend of Wilf's called saying the same thing.

"What is it? Hypnotism?" the Doctor asked, though Renata wasn't sure if he was asking her or himself. Either way, neither of them knew the answer. "Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

The Master shook his head condescendingly. Oh, he couldn't wait for them to figure it out because by then it would be too late. Well, he might as well give them the answer. It might be more fun that way. "Oh, that's way too easy. No, no, no, they're not gonna think like me. They're gonna _become_ me. A-a-a-and, zero!" Right at his command a wave of energy burst from the Gate and made its way around the entire globe.

It was then that they realized what the Gate would truly be. Every single human was turning into the Master.

"Doctor! Renata! She's starting to remember, Donna!" Wilf cried from behind. He turned a glare on the Master. "What is it? What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" the Master, the original, gestured at himself before gesturing to the other versions of himself in the room. "Or to me?"

"Or to me?" a second Master asked, followed by another, and then another. And then another.

_'Breaking news - I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!'_ Even a reporter on television joined in.

Renata felt her head spinning. _One_ Master was more than the universe could handle. She was stunned, and terrified. Very, very terrified.

The Master walked across the floor with his duplicates standing behind him. "The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only... the Master race."

Renata had the good sense to back up as if that would make a difference. She didn't know when it happened but her hand had found the Doctor's in the midst of their horror. He didn't even realize it either.

Everywhere around them the Master laughed thinking his victory was certain, if only he knew the greater work that was being planned ahead…

…or in the past.

~ 0 ~

Doomsday was coming for Gallifrey. The once mighty planet was now crumbling to its last pieces. The citadel barely had any glass in place thanks to the ongoing firing from both sides. Most of its buildings were down or currently smoking from put out fires. There was barely anything left, including hope. But, just because there was barely anything left didn't mean it was over. Lord President Rassilon would never submit to such a travesty.

He sat at the head of a long table in the Council's chamber room. One hand held a long staff while the other hand was covered in an ornate gauntlet. "What news of the Doctor?" he demanded from the other Time Lords in the room.

"Disappeared, my Lord President," one Time Lord answered with a bowed head. It was no secret what that meant.

"But we know his intention," spoke a Time Lady, this one with a head held high. She had a sharpness in her dark, space-like, eyes that would typically scare the others, for when they saw sharpness it meant there would be consequences. "He still possesses the Moment and he'll use it to destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike. The Visionary confirms it."

Rassilon said nothing in the beginning as he focused on the old woman at the other end of the table. She was the only one not subjected to his terrible mood. Right now, she was part of the solution. Her straggly, gray hair covered most of her tattooed arms and face. She wrote fervently on a sheets of papers sprawled around her.

"Ending, burning, falling, all of it falling, the black and pitch and screaming fire, so burning," the Visionary rambled to herself as if she was the only person in the room, perhaps the world.

"All of her prophecies say the same, that this is the last day of the Time War, that Gallifrey falls, that we die, today," the first Time Lord from before spike up again. Before he could say more, the Visionary entered a loop of one word that backed the conversation.

"Ending... Ending. Ending. Ending!"

"Perhaps it's time," said a second Time Lady, this one seeming a bit more nervous than the other and yet she was struggling to keep it at bay. The first Time Lady was staring at her with beedy eyes, but the second Time Lady went on. "This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity. With time itself resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying, over and over again, a travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it, at last?"

The second Time Lady cocked her head to the side, her expression cold and calculating. What a _fool_. She had no idea what she was saying and much less to _who_. Their Lord President would _never_ allow for them to die. Gallifrey could not and would not fall. They would survive because they would, because she had the perfect way. That's what she always did, she found solutions to problems. She found the best ones and kept other opinions and suggestions - like the one they just heard - out of the public's ears. She wasn't the Assessor for nothing.

"Thank you for your opinion." Rassilon rose from his chair, turning sideways to the second Time Lady. His expression bore no emotions but what he did next wasn't surprising. With his gauntlet-covered hand, he disintegrated the Time Lady with one hit of energy. Nobody flinched when the woman screamed into oblivion, but they did when Rassilon yelled. "I will _not_ die! Do you hear me?! A billion years of Time Lord history riding on our backs. I will not let this perish. I will not!"

"My Lord," the Assessor stepped forwards, letting her hands reside in front of her, "I do have another solution." Her lips quirked only slightly when Rassilon gave her the attention. He always did. Her reputation preceded her. The Assessor was known for her logical, calculating solutions that had often brought them the best results. She was first and foremost professional, even when it was impossible to be. Not even the loss of her parents and her own husband months ago knocked her off. She kept going because _that's_ what needed to be done. That's what was expected of her. And she always did what was expected of her.

"My sister, Renata, could help capture the Doctor before he uses the Moment. She could convince him not to use it."

However pleasing that sounded, Rassilon could not fully believe that one woman was smart enough to outwit the Doctor. "Explain yourself at once, Assessor."

The Assessor nodded, though she would struggle explaining the story given the contents of it. It was something she forced her mind to erase over the centuries but now was the time to bring it all back for their salvation. "Forgive me my Lord, for this is...an embarrassment to my family. Centuries ago, before the Doctor and my sister were each married, they had a relationship. I don't know how long it had been but when I caught them, I forbade it." Her darkness settled nicely over her tone, as if she used it constantly...and perhaps she did. Her eyes still turned ice cold whenever she thought of that horrifying period in their lives. How her sister could have done such an atrocity to their family was still beyond her now. "But I suspect that Renata never truly moved on. I suspect the same from the Doctor. If we shall do one more thing may I suggest we use this as a strategy?. Who else to convince him than someone he could never reject?"

"You are sure this could work?" Rassilon questioned.

"It was known that the Doctor's family has since been deceased. There is no one left, only my sister. Her word would carry an immense weight."

Rassilon remained silent for a few minutes. There was no telling what he would decide on. Ultimately, he gave a nod. "Bring her in. Find her and bring her here _now_."

"Of course," the Assessor bowed her head and hurried out of the room in a purposeful stride.

"My Lord," the first male Time Lord Lord up after the Assessor had gone. like everyone else, he didn't doubt that the Assessor knew what she was doing - her previous doings had given her a high standing reputation amongst their people - but the Time Lord felt like this was something that needed to be addressed. It could be part of their saving. He grabbed one of the Visionary's scrolls and brought it to Rassilon. "There is one part of the prophecy. Forgive me. I'm sorry. It's rather difficult to decipher. But it talks of three survivors, beyond the Final Day, two children of Gallifrey and one child of the Vortex."

Had Rassilon been human, the snap ' _excuse me?_ ' might have come out of his mouth. He did a double take at the Time Lord in front of him. "Child of _the...Vortex?"_

The Time Lord swallowed hard as he nodded. He assumed he was about 2 seconds away from being disintegrated. "Y-yes, my Lord." The symbol, albeit surrounded by incoherent scribbles, was quite clear. Everyone knew the symbol of the Vortex and there it was. However he did denote another symbol, one that took a moment of study, that did make things just a bit more credible. "The Visionary drew a-a...I believe humans call it a butterfly."

Rassilon all but snatched the scroll from the Time Lord's hands. He needed to see for himself but even as he confirmed the Time Lord's words, he didn't understand it. And that wouldn't do. "Names. I want names." He chucked the scroll back to the Time Lord who scrambled to catch it.

His hands shook as he hurriedly searched for the names on the scroll. "It, uh, it foresees them locked in their final confrontation, the enmity of ages, which would suggest…"

Rassilon understood that part perfectly. Everyone knew it. "The Doctor! And the Master. And the third? Who is the third?"

"A-A, uh, a…" the Time Lord scanned the scroll as best as he could, "A daughter. The Vortex Butterfly."

Rassilon glared at the man before him. That made absolutely no sense. His gauntlet may have raised halfway, prompting the Time Lord to quickly add more.

"Renata! Time Lady Renata! She-she merged with the Vortex! The butterflies are part of a human's mind - imagination - and together they were turned into new creatures."

The confusion washed off Rassilon's face to be replaced by utter disgust. Behind him, the rest of the Council exchanged confused glances. Humans were known to be quite simple and primitive. They never questioned the Doctor's fascination with that race on account of his own odd behaviors, but everyone knew Renata was a proper Time Lady. She belonged to a noble family, a family that was well respected for always being the prime example of what was expected of a Time Lord. Though she ran a questionable charity foundation, after she married she went on to become one of the most respectable Time Ladies of Gallifrey.

And now they heard she had merged with a human's mind and created herself anew? That _couldn't_ be.

"But one word keeps being repeated, my Lord, one constant word. Earth," the Time Lord finished just so that he wouldn't be directly under Rassilon's eyes. If he was to be furious let it be with those at fault.

The Visionary gasped at the mention of the blue planet. Her head snapped up, revealing her widened eyes. "Earth. Earth. Earth! Earth! Earth...!"

Rassilon knew not what their clear plan was, but all things pointed to the primitive planet. So be it. "Maybe that's where the answer lies. Our salvation on Earth."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

YES. She didn't die, she regenerated, and she's back! Obviously there'll be some new bits because of the energy buuuuut that'll be for the next story. As a reference, Renata's new incarnation looks like the actress **_Livia Brito_**! And as for her actual regeneration scene, it IS going to be shown but in the next story! Promise!

And, what's this, _the Assessor_? Been waiting to drop that bomb too! One sister face off coming up!

**P.S** As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	31. A Time Lady's Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Master gains control of the Earth, the Time Lords strive to save themselves from extinction. The Assessor, for that matter, will do anything to ensure their victory even at the expense of her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Assessor's visual reference is the actress Ana Brenda with dark hair and dark eyes! And just a reminder that Renata's new visual reference is Livia Brito too!

The Master was relishing in his triumph. He had every single human under his control, every weapon at his disposal, a whole planet just for him...and then came the truly best part. On one side of the room he had the Doctor strapped to the very chair that had kept the Master a few hours ago. There was a thick black strap going over the Doctor's face - finally shutting up that gob of his - with a few other straps to keep him bound. On the other side, the Master had Renata bound to a regular chair but she had no gag on. He wanted to hear more of her excuses, see the shame on her face each time he would remind her of her past. It was his entertainment. The old human beside her was just a plus. He didn't know what he would do with Wilf yet but he was sure to have a plan later on.

"Now, then. I've got a planet to run!" the Master exclaimed, tapping his fingers against each other as he walked towards the controls. He had every world leader as a version of himself.

"This won't last," Renata said after the Master annoyingly checked in with each World Leader. He'd done this three times already.

The Master turned around, glaring at her for a brief second before he grinned. "Oh my dear Renata! You really think that, huh?" he scurried towards her, missing the Doctor squirming under his straps. He wanted the Master far, far away from Renata.

_He won't hurt me_ , he heard Renata's calm voice in his mind. She was having a stare down with the Master three inches from her face. To her credit, she truly did not seem afraid of him.

_He's crazy. You don't know what he would do_ , the Doctor returned.

_He won't hurt me because then he wouldn't be able to mock me and shame me if I really died._ Renata had no doubt that the Master wouldn't hesitate to inflict some type of pain on her but never to the point of killing her. She was a good source of fun for him, a toy that he could squeeze and laugh at. He could never end that type of game.

"Why are you so silent?" the Master demanded from Renata. Usually by now she would have said something else, something about how this plan was crazy and he would never succeed. But all she did was stare. He looked back at the Doctor who had stopped squirming. He craned his head as if he were going to look at Renata again but he started to laugh. "Oh! Oh! I get it!" He stepped away from Renata so that he was between her and the Doctor. "You opened up your telepathic abilities! You're _connected_! How romantic. Tell me," his laugh disappeared as he turned to Renata. "How long did that take after I was gone? You waste absolutely no time, my dear Renata."

Renata glared at him but there was still an inkling inside her reminding her that what the Master claimed was true. She did make a terrible mistake in the past. But she would not allow him to guilt her over things that never happened. "I only opened my mind because the situation called for it. I've done nothing wrong."

The Master laughed again and bent down in front of her, shaking his head. "It's hilarious to me that you actually believe yourself. Who would've thought that the noble Renata—" he mocked her name, taking pleasure at her flinch, "—would do something so...primitive like a _human._ I mean, _you_ —" he gestured back at the Doctor, "—I sort of expect because, well...look at where you've wasted centuries of your lives on." The Doctor glared at him. "Of course you would pick up their ape-like ways. Then again, this did happen _before_ so maybe you were always like this. Having an affair? Hm," he brought a hand to his chin as if he was really pondering on the situation. "I've always been rather infamous myself but you would never catch _me_ having an amorous affair. _Pathetic!"_ He screamed, causing all three of his prisoners to flinch from the sudden volume. "Embarrassment to our people!" A deep, dark fury that crossed his face - that one did make the Doctor fear for Renata's well being. The Master turned on his heels for the Time Lady and rushed right up to her face, so much that she had to lean away. " _Betrayal_ for my brother! He was an idiot but he was still my brother! He showered you with stupid love, stupid gifts and you go and betray him! You should be _dead_ like the rest of them!"

Renata scrunched her face as he kept shouting at her. She could feel some of his spit landing on her skin but it wasn't what mattered. His words were all true. Her stomach churned as she thought of her late husband. Elek. He did give her everything she wanted; everything anyone would've wanted. He was always sweet to her, never once raised his voice even when they did have a arguments here and there. But he was rubbish at arguing - she always pointed that out to him when they made up.

_"Maybe it's because I don't want to argue with my beautiful wife_ ," he would tell her later in the day.

_"Or maybe you just have no talent at it,"_ she would poke more fun at him to see if she could get one proper argumentative response, but she never did.

There were the gifts that he would surprise her with. Being an Architect gave him ample exploration of the planet. Sometimes he would come home with the rarest of things that he claimed that only fit _her._ She still remembered her favorite gift: a necklace that he himself had forged. It had her name, her true name, written in Gallifreyan along with hers. He had given it to her just before the War had begun and what truly made it her favorite gift was that it also had their unborn child's name. At that moment, Renata was about four months pregnant and they had come up with a few names until they had decided on their favorite name. She loved that necklace.

When the Master heard the first blip of an oncoming sob, he straightened away from Renata, pleased with his work. Even when she claimed to have moved on, there was always something that would pull her back to her roots.

_Renata? Don't cry. Don't cry, you've done nothing wrong._ The Doctor struggled even more to get out of the stupid chair holding him back. _It was **me**. It was always me. Gala? I'm so sorry my love. You don't deserve any of this - you never deserved any of it._

Renata could only bring herself to look at him for a few seconds, showing her reddened eyes in the process. That was false. It wasn't all on him. He never forced her into anything. Her thoughts were cut short by the ringing of a cellphone. Everyone froze and slowly their eyes landed on Wilf since the ringing was coming from him.

"But that…that's a mobile," the Master scowled at the old man.

"Yeah, it's mine, let me turn it off!" Wilf struggled to move his hands with the rope around him.

"No, no, no. I don't think you understand." The Master marched over to Wilf's chair. "Everybody on this planet...is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" He searched for the phone himself and came across the revolver first. "Ooh, and look at this. Good man!" he waved it at the Doctor then Renata. He let it drop to the ground and continued the search until he found the cell phone. "Donna," he read off the screen. "Who's Donna?"

"Nobody, move on," snapped Renata though the tone she was going for didn't exactly portray the snap. She was still trying to recover from her little episode, but she was not going to let it be the reason Donna was hurt.

The Master answered the call to hear Donna's frantic voice telling him all about the "changed people" in her house and in the streets. "Who is she!? Why didn't she change!?" he angrily demanded to know.

"Well, it was this thing the Doctor and Renata did…" Wilf struggled to remember the right name. "The Metacrisis?"

The Master laughed condescendingly. "Of course. "Oh... He loves playing with Earth girls, huh Ren? You would know."

Renata glared at him. At first, the mere mention of the Doctor with Rose Tyler would set her off. A _human_ girl...but things were so different now. She knew better, she knew humans a lot better. She couldn't blame the Doctor for anything. It was his story and it was a tragic one all on its own without her adding ridiculous jealousy.

The Master ordered his clones to track Donna down. Wilf panicked as the clones did the job.

"You just leave her!"

"I wouldn't do that," Renata, on the other hand, warned calmly. Even the Doctor didn't squirm or try to say something behind the mouth strap on him.

The Master craned his head at the Time Lady, smiling sarcastically. "Why?"

"I just wouldn't."

The clones had found Donna in two minutes but just as they closed in on her, she released golden energy from her head that knocked them all out, including herself.

When the Master looked at Renata afterwards, she was smirking but her eyes flickered past him to the Doctor. _He_ was responsible. He growled and stalked towards the Doctor, pulling the gag off him.

"That's better!" the Doctor opened and closed his mouth in strange ways to get the movement back in order. "Hello. But really, did you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?"

"Doctor, what happened?" Wilf asked him. He wasn't able to understand if Donna was truly safe or not.

"She's all right, she's fine, I promise. She'll just sleep," he assured Wilf.

The Master exhaled deeply, forgetting all about the stupid human. She would eventually die on her own anyways. "Tell me, where's your TARDIS?"

The Doctor didn't answer immediately. He stared at the Master in an annoying silence. "You could be so wonderful."

"Where is it!?"

"You're a genius," the Doctor continued to ignore the demand. "You're stone-cold brilliant. You are, I swear, you really are."

"Stop it!" he snapped, but instead he got Renata to join in.

"He's not wrong," she said. "You and Elek would have these conversations that I could never dream of understanding. And you know, most of the time Elek was so inspired by you. He admired your intelligence. What would he think right now if he saw this? Wouldn't it be better to travel together?"

"Travel with the likes of _you_?" he sneered and looked between the pair. "With the likes of both of you!? Ha!"

"But maybe together, all three of us, we could figure out how to stop that noise inside your head," the Doctor said, truly meaning it. He wants to believe that if the noise was gone, things would be so different. Maybe the Master would finally find _peace_.

"Would it stop, then?" the Master's voice was suddenly quiet. "The noise in my head?"

"We can help."

"I don't know what I'd be without that noise."

"Wonder what I'd be, without you."

The Master stayed quiet for a moment, almost looking like he was considering such an idea. He'd been with that noise all his life, what would he do if he could truly get rid of it?

"What does he mean? What noise?" Wilf asked them.

The Master was too far in thought to deny the human the answer. "It began on Gallifrey. As children. Not that you'd call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation. To stare into the Untempered Schism."

"But what does that mean?" Wilf continued to ask. He had no idea what the man was talking about.

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Doctor simplified it. "You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts."

"You get three reactions basically," Renata said quietly. She could see the raw pain the Master held just by remembering his initiation. "You either run away, go insane or you get inspired. Very rarely do you see another reaction."

It didn't take a lot for Wilf to decide what reaction the Master had. Renata knew the Master's story, and she knew the Doctor's story.

_Which one were you?_ the Doctor asked her. He was gazing at her curiously, unable to decide whether or not she was as against the Initiation as the Master was.

A small smile came to Renata's face. _I was inspired. I saw the Gallifreyans and how they struggled outside the Citadel. I wanted to help them._ It was at that moment that Renata set out to find a way to help the people their city had forgotten about simply because they chose against regeneration. It shouldn't have mattered what they decided. They were still of the same species, the same kind originating from the same world. They should have always been _one_.

_You were amazing even as a child,_ the Doctor remarked and enjoyed seeing the blush spread over Renata's face.

"I saw the worst," the Master bad turned to Renata, once again sneering at her. "Not all of us could be inspired," he mocked her and moved away. "They took me there, in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums, the never-ending drums."

~0~

**Gallifrey.**

Two Time Lords were bringing in a Time Lady with a ruddy appearance. Her pale face had bruises and cuts that were still open. Her brunette hair was tangled in knots. She had her arms gripped by each Time Lord and they wouldn't let go until they reached their destination. Twice she had tried to run away and if she could, she would.

Finally, they stopped in the Matrix room where the Assessor waited. She stood on a platform when her sister was brought inside. "There you are." She gave a nod at the two Time Lords to leave them. "Renata, you look well."

Renata's emerald eyes glared at her sister. " _Why_ am I here?" She had just received her newest location to move towards to when all of a sudden she had two Time Lords demanding to take her away, all on orders from the High Council.

The Assessor stepped down from the platform and walked up to her sister. "I have a task for you."

"But I just got a new assignment—"

The Assessor raised a hand - a very clean hand which just angered Renata all over again - to command silence. "Forget it. The Council has assigned you to a much more important duty. Failure is not an option here."

"What do you want?" Renata asked. She couldn't understand why the hell the Council wanted something from _her._ If anything, _they_ needed to get off their behinds and do something to help _them_. Time Lords were dying outside and yet the High Council - those snobby creatures - wouldn't leave their protected chambers. They were letting everyone else die, including her.

"We got word that the Doctor has stolen the Moment. And just so we're clear, the Moment has the power to destroy the entire planet along with the Daleks. _You_ are going to find him and stop him from activating it."

Renata nearly keeled over but she didn't because she knew that her sister was playing a joke on her. The Assessor would never want her near the Doctor, not after what happened in the Academy. Centuries may have passed but the anger in the Assessor was still as raw and fresh as the day she found out about them.

"I know you must be confused but time is of the essence. If you don't hurry, all of this—" the Assessor gestured to the room they were in, the room where all of their history was in, as an example of what they were saving, "—will be lost."

"You're not joking," Renata whispered. "You really do mean it. You want me to find the Doctor?" Anger quickly filled her face. _"You_ forbade me from seeing him again! Don't you remember!? You literally threatened me! You blackmailed me! You were prepared to hurt him if I didn't end things! You destroyed my life! And now you want me to go find him? You want me to _save_ you? Do you want me to save the very institution you once said would kill the Doctor?"

The Assessor wasn't phased by her sister's outburst. If anything, she thought it was embarrassing. But her sister was always more...emotional than the rest of their family. She didn't understand that things worked in a specific way and each of them had to do their respective tasks. "The situation calls for it. The Doctor's family is dead. You are the only one who could stop him. He will kill us all."

"No! Absolutely not! You will not use me!" Renata was beyond furious that she shoved her sister away.

The Assessor struggled to regain her balance and sent a dark glare her sister's way. "I advice you _not_ to do that again, _little_ sister." She dusted her robes off, something that made Renata want to throw her to the floor. The Assessor's robes were elegant and _clean_ as was her appearance. She was untouched by the war.

And here she was, demanding for a soldier to keep fighting.

Renata had already been beaten and worn down by the war to hold what little restraints she had to keep herself composed. She had lost everything and even then, when she was so alone, the Assessor never once offered her support. They were the last of their family and yet it didn't feel that way. Renata _lost_ it. " _You_ haven't fought for us! You haven't fought for _me_! You don't care about anyone! Our parents died months ago and you didn't even check up on me!"

"You were fighting," the Assessor said, her tone still untouched by Renata's spats. "You had a duty, so did I."

"You have _no_ duty! You haven't been out there!" Renata frantically pointed out the door. "People are _dying_! The children—" she stopped to close her eyes, "—are dying. I saw a whole group of them disintegrated in one second." Tears rolled down her face. "Cece," the use of her sister's nickname was the only thing that made the Assessor shift with actual emotions, "My own child died inside me. It wasn't enough that I lost Elek, I lost my _child_. You did not care."

"The casualties are part of a war. They are not surprising," the Assessor said, though her eyes did linger on her sister's stomach for a few seconds. "You think that I am not affected by the passing of our family? My own husband died, did you forget? But I have a responsibility and I will continue doing it until my last breath. The same goes for you now."

"You still don't care," Renata shouldn't even be surprised by that, but she always clung to a little bit of hope that somewhere inside the Assessor did have feelings. She did love her family, _her_. "I've lost most of my lives and you are now asking me to put myself in further danger."

"How many lives do you have left?" the Assessor inquired.

"What—"

"How many lives?" the Assessor demanded this time.

"Three more!"

"How would you feel about a whole new cycle?" the Assessor slowly tilted her head, knowing that she now had her sister's entire attention. "The Council understands your journey is treacherous and they are prepared to grant you a new regeneration cycle. All you have to do is retrieve the Moment from the Doctor."

Renata raised an eyebrow at her sister. They must be really desperate to offer _that_ type of deal. Regeneration cycles were not handed out lightly. There had to be exclusive reasons for somebody to receive a whole new cycle.

And yet everyone was dying.

Maybe...the Doctor had figured out a way to make everything stop. He always knew what to do. A small smile came to Renata's face when she recalled the many times he helped her solve her problems. She hadn't allowed herself to think about him much after they parted ways. But now the Assessor was making her go back to a painful moment in her life. Renata was forced to drive the Doctor away and now the Assessor was taking it back just to save her own skin?

Fury bubbled inside Renata. She laid eyes on her sister and the woman still didn't offer up any emotion. Everyone was dying and she didn't care. The Council didn't care. _No more_ , Renata gritted her teeth behind her closed lips. They shouldn't have had the power they did. Oh, she hated them all. She hated all these people in power who did nothing for their citizens. And now the Assessor was dangerously close to being added to that list.

_It's time to end it_ , Renata decided. She had nothing left. Her husband was gone, her child was gone, her parents. The Doctor had long been gone. The Assessor had never been there. _I deserve better_.

Renata straightened herself up and walked up to her sister. "I want the cycle _first_ ," she spat in her sister's face.

The Assessor smirked.

~0~

**Present Day.**

"Listen to it," the Master commanded the two Time Lords with him. "Listen." But of course, without a mind connection, neither Renata nor the Doctor could hear the drums...but they now knew that they were real.

"Then let's find it, you and us," the Doctor attempted to construct yet another speech to stop the Master, but a new idea had crossed the Master's mind.

"Oh! Oh, wait a minute! Oh, yes. Oh, that's good!"

"What? What is?" Renata dreaded what he had come up with, although a part of her asked herself what _more_ could he do that would be worse than what he had already done to the planet.

"The noise exists within my head. And now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine! Oh... Oh, yes!" His laughter was cut short with another skeletal flash struck him. He dropped with a groan.

"The Gate wasn't enough. You're still dying," the Doctor grimly.

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," the Master was able to pull himself up after a few minutes. "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, "the end of time.""

"I said something is returning. I was shown a prophecy. That's why I need your help."

"What if I'm part of it? Don't you see?" the grin was quick to return to the Master's face. "The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source! Oh, Doctor... That's what your prophecy was. Me!" He crouched in front of the Doctor. "Where's the TARDIS?"

"No. Just stop. Just think—"

The Master rolled his eyes and suddenly pointed a finger at Wilf. "Kill him!" A helmeted soldier moved towards Wilf and aimed his gun at him. "I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead."

"Oh stop it," Renata frowned. "Why not redirect it at me instead? Maybe you're not the only one with a little bit of power left." Had she been anyone else, he might have had the gun aimed at her but here she was completely unharmed. The mental torture was the only thing he used against her, but never physical harm.

The Master shot her a glare, practically warning her to keep her mouth shut. "I'll kill him, right now!"

"Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone-dead stupid," the Doctor's calmness despite the situation was the first thing the Master should have noticed.

"Take aim," he ordered the soldier.

_He never was smart for the obvious._ Renata smiled at the Doctor. _He over thought too much. His brother didn't._

The Doctor was able to smile back at her. The Master noticed their silent smiles at each other and scowled. "What us going on!?"

"What I think the Doctor meant to say is that you've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious," Renata made a face at him.

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, you're over exerting yourself - oh!" Renata exclaimed as if she only just remembered the real point they'd been trying to make. "And that guard—" she nodded at the soldier holding the gun on Wilf, "—is one inch too tall."

It was only then that the Master finally gave the soldier a good look, but it only lasted a few minutes before the soldier hit him with his rifle. He pulled his helmet off to reveal Rossiter underneath.

"Oh, my God, I hit him. I've never hit anyone in my life!" He was absolutely stunned at himself, but Addams ran into the room looking primed for the job.

"Oh I know, it gets you the first time," Renata smiled at him with a chuckle. "I never hit anyone—"

"What about me?" frowned the Doctor. "You hit me loads of time in the foundation."

"Yeah, but those didn't hurt. I meant like an actual smack or something. And the war doesn't count either."

"You _did_ hit me hard enough to hurt!"

"I did not!"

"Don't you remember when you threw a—"

"Both of you stop!" Addams cut in to scold the two.

Renata flushed with embarrassment. No one had ever scolded her too. What was going on with this new body of hers? She did _not_ want to be like the Doctor. The universe truly could not handle two of him.

"We need to get out of here, fast!" Addams said, throwing a look at the unconscious Master on the ground. She doubted Rossiter had him hit hard enough to be out for anything more than a few minutes.

Rossiter had untied Renata while Addams untied Wilf. The Doctor proved to be a bit more difficult with the multiple straps.

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf laughed when he could finally stand up from his chair.

"That's _cacti_!" the Doctor called.

Rossiter stopped struggling with the straps, quite offended with the two of them. "That's racist!"

"Please don't offend the people who are saving us!" Renata scolded the Doctor and Wilf. There we go, _she_ did the scolding because _she_ wasn't rude.

"This prophecy of yours, Doctor...where did it come from? Doctor?" one of the Master's appeared on the screen behind them.

"Come on! We've got to get out!" Addams told Rossiter, she thought he was far too slow.

"There's too many buckles and straps!".

Addams groaned. "Oh just...wheel him!" Rossiter didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the chair by the handles and started turning them for the door.

"No, no, no! Get me out!" the Doctor shouted at them. "No, no, don't! Don't! No, no, no!"

Renata ushered Wilf ahead of her but she stopped for a moment just outside the room, smiling - almost laughing - as she heard the Doctor ahead of her, shouting for them to properly release him. Her smile suddenly dropped while her eyes widened. "You are not rude!" she scolded herself before finally running after them.

With all the chaos and running away, the Doctor couldn't get either Vinvocci to listen to him and take them to the TARDIS instead. Even Renata, when she caught up, couldn't get them to change course and she wasn't going to let them take the Doctor either. They would have to come back for the blue box afterwards.

"Not the stairs... Not the stairs!" the Doctor fought to get out of the remaining straps but the stairs had come up and now he was being rocked in all directions. "Worst...rescue...ever!" He only stopped fighting for a second when he heard something strange behind him. "...is that _laughing_? Renata, you're _laughing_!?"

Renata caught herself quick and covered her mouth. "No!" she gave the muffle answer and focused on running and nothing more.

The Master had caught them in the teleporting room but despite that, the Vinvoccis were one step ahead. They teleported themselves out of the building, off the planet, and onto their ship.

"Now get me out of this thing!" the Doctor practically ordered while he wriggled like a worm.

"Don't say thanks, will you?" Addams scoffed as she went to help him out.

"He'll thank you when we cut off the weapons the Master still has!" Renata sighed as she hurried to undo the straps on him.

"Oh, my goodness me...we're in space!" Wilf had found the huge glass wall at the end of the room. He could see planet Earth, bright as ever despite what was going on. With a view like this no wonder Donna loved traveling.

"We'll come back to the exciting part, Wilf! Promise!" Renata said just as she'd pulled the Doctor off the chair. From her force, he leaned just a bit too close to her face, not that he cared. He quite liked her new face.

"Come on!" she urged him to remember what they were supposed to do.

"Right!"

Adams couldn't understand what was the huge rush. They were no longer in danger since they weren't even on the same planet as that crazy man. "But we're safe! We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth!"

"And he's got every single missile on the planet ready to fire!" the Doctor said, making her finally realize the problem.

" _Oh_. Good point. This way!" she took the lead out of the room. Renata hurried for Wilf who was still taken by the grand sight of space.

"But we're in space!"

"Aha!"

"We've got to close it down!" the Doctor said as soon as they found the controls.

Rossiter gave him a mad look. "No chance, mate, we're going home."

"We're a salvage team. Local politics has nothing to do with us," Addams argued as well. "Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better!"

"No you are not!" snapped Renata and before Addams could open her mouth, Renata continued to shout. "The whole reason Earth is the way it is right now is because of _your_ stupid machine! If you and your people had been more responsible, this machine would have never fallen into the hands of the humans! Therefore you _are_ responsible and under the rules of the Shadow Proclamation you have a responsibility to help us fix things! And just so we're clear…" Renata pulled out her sonic and used it on the controls, effectively killing the entire power line.

The Doctor was stunned by her actions and her entire outburst as a whole. He was about to do the same thing but that's what _he_ always did. That was no shocker. But Renata had finally come around humans and Earth to the point that she would do anything to help them and save them.

Plus, she looked incredibly good arguing someone's ear off. _I love that woman_ , he concluded with a huge grin on his face. Also not a shocker.

"You've wrecked the place!" Addams was in complete outrage. If she wasn't green, she would've turned red from anger.

"The engines are burnt out!" Rossiter was in a state of panic instead of anger like his co-worker. "Just auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck in orbit!"

"Thanks to you. You idiot!" Addams spat enough to make Renata wince.

Okay, so maybe she hadn't thought it through but if she hadn't killed the power, the Master would've killed them. But, there was still a bit of guilt sitting on her shoulders. She might have doomed them anyways. "I'm sorry," she said as Addams and Rossiter stormed out of the place.

"Hey, you did what I was going to do anyways," the Doctor walked up to her and brought his hands to her arms. He offered her a supportive smile and pulled her into a hug while she struggled to accept the reality.

~0~

**Gallifrey.**

"My Lord, I have my sister," the Assessor had brought Renata into the main chamber of the Council, though not before cleaning her younger sister up a bit. She would be damned if Renata embarrassed her.

Renata's face had been cleaned up for the meeting and any blood dripping on her had been forced shut with a bit of the Assessor's own regeneration energy. It didn't surprise Renata though that her sister had done that, because she knew that the Assessor only did it to make her 'proper'. Her hair had been forcibly untangled and Renata dared to say it hurt almost as much as each of the cuts and bruises she'd gotten from battles.

"Excellent," Rassilon looked the brunette over from his spot at the table. She didn't exactly return the gaze. This was the first time she walked into a chamber of the Council, and much more she was seeing a Visionary. Hardly anyone saw a Visionary up close.

The silver-haired woman continued to write on her scroll, acting as if she was the only one in the room.

"But we may have found another solution," Rassilon said as he gestured to the hologram of Earth behind him.

"But...that's Earth," Renata recognized the blue-green planet almost straight away. She looked at her sister for an explanation, but even the Assessor was puzzled.

"What doe that planet have to offer _us_?" she asked, sharpness tinging her tone.

"Our very salvation," Rassilon's tone was even sharper, a piercing that reminded the Assessor of her place. "We have sent a signal. A simple task of four beats transmitted back through time, and implanted in the Master's mind as a child."

"What!?" Renata blinked. The Master always complained about a noise in his head, one that - shamefully - she and her husband never believed in. _"_ You... _you_ did that to him? The endless drumming, he would call it. You're the one who put it inside his head?"

The Assessor gripped Renata's arm, silently telling her to shut her mouth. "Forgive me, my Lord, but what is the plan? I thought I presented one myself."

"The Master is on Earth, in the future, and if we can establish a link then perhaps we can leave the Time Lock."

"But it's just an idea," frowned Renata. "To establish a proper link you would need something physical…"

"Something...so simple," Rassilon agreed and turned away to consider what might do.

"So small and shining, shining bright and cold, the tiny, tiny star, falling, falling, burning, burning, burning," the Visionary babbled on to herself.

The Assessor blinked when she realized what it could be. Her head snapped in Renata's direction, her eyes lowering to the jewel around Renata's neck. Without a warning, she reached over and pulled the necklace off Renata's neck, ignoring her sister's cry.

"That's mine!" she made to take it back but the Assessor raised it over her head. This current incarnation of Renata's was quite petite.

The Assessor ordered for her sister to be taken into custody. "The Master would recognize this straightaway," she walked up to Rassilon holding the necklace in her hand. There was a clear diamond at the end of the silver necklace, one engraved with Gallifreyan names. "After all, he did help his brother forge it."

Renata was in tears as she fought the two Time Lords holding her back. "That's mine! Elek gave it to me! Assessor, please! That's-that's mine!"

Rassilon took the jewel into his hand and examined it briefly before looking up at the Assessor. "Do not fail me," he darkly warned, but the Assessor remained calm.

She was always sure of herself. "I would never."

Rassilon threw the diamond into the hologram. Renata cried loudly for her lost jewel but still her sister did not flinch.

It was a means to an end.

~0~

**Present Day.**

On the Vinvocci ship, the Doctor worked to get the power back on. Renata helped with what she could but she had to stop when she noticed from the corner of her eye something shiny soaring through space. It was heading for Earth!

"The last thing this planet needs is a meteor," she sighed as she walked towards the glass wall.

Down on Earth, the Master and his clones had pinpointed the impact of the 'meteor'. The clones all searched the crash site until one soldier found something peculiar in the middle of the crater. It glittered.

"It's a diamond, sir," he picked it up as he informed the Master. He scraped the dirt of the jewel to see a clear pattern of Gallifreyan names. A laugh came to him. "Oh... the most impossible diamond. You won't believe this. It's a Whitepoint star!"

The Master had enough laughter to last him a lifetime.

~ 0 ~

Wilf had gotten lost in the ship for a few minutes. It was like a maze and after another odd interaction with a woman he was sure was part of his imagination, he finally found Renata and the Doctor in the main room where Renata had killed the power.

"Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?" he asked the pair, but they didn't seem so cheery.

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor mumbled while he crossed two particular wires.

"Sorry," Renata said yet again. The heat was off because HE she killed it.

The Doctor, by this point, was more than done with her relentless apology for something that was going to be done either way. "Renée, just stop it."

Wilf took a seat near them. Renata drifted towards him, figuring the heat wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

"D'you know, I've always dreamt of a view like that," Wilf gave a nod towards the glass wall. No matter how many times he looked at the Earth, it wouldn't stop taking his breath away. It was simply amazing. "I'm an astronaut. It's dawn over England, look. Brand new day." And yet there was no cheer for the new day. He kept thinking about Sylvia and Donna, and everyone else he once knew. "My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now. D'you think he changed them, in their graves?"

Renata lowered her gaze, unable to answer him because the answer might not be the one he wanted to hear.

"We're sorry," the Doctor said for him and Renata. He came over to the two and sat down next to Renata.

"It's not your fault," Wilf told them. They were the good guys. They had no say in what the Master did.

"The noise inside his head…" Renata scrunched her face as if something was trying to come to her, "I swear there is something I'm missing. There's something tickling in the back of my head about it. Something that's telling me I'm forgetting something."

"Seven-hundred fifty-eight, something's bound to slip your mind," the Doctor joked only to see if he could get her to smile. He did. And it was so worth it.

"Never say a lady's age," she lightly jabbed him on the side, making him smile now.

"You're _how_ old?" Wilf gawked at Renata. He had to study her face again but even when he did, it didn't make sense. Her new face was younger than the last one she had on.

"You want to hear somebody really old?" Renata jerked her thumb at the Doctor. "He's 906! Yeah, _he's_ old!" She thought she would definitely get the Doctor back with that one, but all he did was smile fondly at her.

He just wanted to see her cheer up for a bit. He still didn't forget the fact she'd died only hours ago and he'd missed it.

Wilf shook his head at the two. "We must look like insects to you."

"I think you look like giants," the Doctor corrected him, extending that fond smile to him as well.

"My perspective on humans has changed in this last 2 years," Renata said with her own warm smile. "And I have Martha to thank, and Gabriela...and Donna." Wilf teared up in that moment as he wondered just what amazing things his granddaughter had to have done in her time up here in space. She had changed so much because of it and Renata and the Doctor. She had been a better person - she was a good person right now but being her other self gave her so much more perspective.

He couldn't let them die now, not on his watch.

"Listen, I... I want you to have this," he took out his revolver and held it at the pair. "I've kept it all this time, and I thought…"

"No," the Doctor said calmly. He expected this to come up sooner or later.

"No, but if you take it, you could…"

"I couldn't," Renata confessed. For all the harm the Master had done to the Earth and herself, and the Doctor, she knew she wouldn't be able to end him. She wouldn't even try to fight it.

"You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then," the Doctor pointed out to Wilf.

"Too scared, I suppose," Wilf said, lamenting his courage.

"I'd be proud," the Doctor suddenly said, starting a new thought.

"Of what?"

"If you were my dad."

Wilf did a double take at the Doctor, waiting for him to take it back or laugh it off. "Oh...come on...don't start!" The Doctor smiled wider at him, but when he did it reminded Wilf of what was coming for him. He didn't deserve that. "But you said...you were told... he will knock four times, and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it, The Master? That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you."

Renata tried her best not to react but her body flinched. It was an automatic response to such a horrid thought. She leaned on him, not even noticing it with all the thoughts that ran through her head. "I wouldn't let him," she whispered.

The Doctor put an arm around her, having heard her perfectly well. He gave a nod to Wilf's question and that was all Wilf needed to try and hand him the gun again.

"Then kill him first."

"That's how the Master started. And it's not like I'm an innocent," the Doctor started off on grim note, not that he could help it given his track record. He always knew what he'd become, but he would get by because he would push it away. He wouldn't think about it. "I've taken lives. I got worse - I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long. I can't. I just can't."

"But there's a difference," Renata raised her head off his arm. "The Master likes it. He likes what comes with death. You don't. And you know what? None of us are innocent. I'm certainly not."

The Doctor studied her eyes for any trace of doubt, a doubt for her words that she'd just said. Not too long ago he believed that she would be angry with him for what he did to their planet. Even as she denied such accusations, there was always a part of him that wondered if she was _truly_ sure. It was no secret that she longed to be back on Gallifrey, who's to say that she wouldn't change her mind about him one day?

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilf thought to ask after taking another look at the planet.

"I don't know."

Wilf didn't buy that answer. "Doctor, what happens?"

"...the template snaps."

Wilf blinked. "What, they go back to being human?" He couldn't believe his ears, nor his eyes when both aliens nodded at him. Here they were lamenting the human race's current situation and there was always that one solution!? He was a bit angry now, properly angry. "They're alive and human? Then don't you dare, sir. Don't you dare DARE put him before them. Now you take this, that's an order, Doctor. Take the gun! You take the gun and save your life! And please don't die!" The tears got the best of him, but how could he calm down? He had done so much for their planet and now some man was going to kill him dead? And the Doctor wasn't even going to fight it! That simply couldn't be. "You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die!" He forced the gun onto the Doctor's hand and closed his fingers over it. "You take it!"

But the Doctor still refused.

Renata shut her eyes, wishing everything would just stop. It had to stop, right? One way or another. _But he might die_. She shuddered a breath.

_Maybe it's my rightful punishment_ , the Doctor's voice filled her mind. He wasn't looking at her, he couldn't. His gaze had become glued to the glass wall out of guilt. _I went too far on Mars and I...I've done too much harm. Maybe my time is up._

Renata reached for his hand and squeezed it tight. _Only one of us should have to regenerate and I already did it. There's no reason why you need to follow._

Before the Doctor could respond, the Master's voice came over the speakers. "A star fell," his tone was mocking, or at least getting ready to mock. "It fell from the sky. Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor. The whole of my life. My destiny. The star was a diamond. And the diamond...is a Whitepoint star. And you, my dear Renata, might know about it considering I helped my stupid brother forge it." Renata's body jumped up from the floor on instinct. Her hand immediately went to her neck. "And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor. This should be...spectacular. Over and out."

"Renata?" the Doctor cautiously got up and turned the woman around.

Her eyes were widening, as if she was just realizing something. She rose her head with a mouth hanging open. "Oh Doctor...it's my fault. It's my fault."

"What? What does that mean?" Wilf got up as well, but he couldn't understand why Renata was so mortified all of a sudden. Neither could the Doctor.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. A Whitepoint Star diamond was only found on Gallifrey…

"It's coming back to me! The-the thoughts! I-I buried them so long ago - that's _my_ Whitepoint Star! The Assessor gave it to…" Renata swallowed hard as a lump had appeared in her throat. The tears were filling her eyes quickly. It was coming back to her in a rush. "She took it from me, Doctor. She pulled it off me…" her shaky hands found her neck, ghosting the place where her beautiful Whitepoint Star had once hung long ago. "They stole it from me! And now they're coming here! The Time Lords are coming back!"

The Doctor couldn't make sense of everything Renata was seeing but she was letting her mind fully open to his and so he could see the same rush of images she was getting. The Assessor, Rassilon, the Whitepoint Star…

The Assessor had yanked it off her sister and handed it over to Rassilon.

Renata screamed and jumped for her necklace to be returned, but it was too late. It was far gone…

Until now.

A deep fury coursed through his entire body in that moment, a fury that went for so many people on that planet. He didn't know how much of it went to the Assessor, but it was a big one. He turned away from Renata and picked up the gun from the floor as he stormed out of the room.

"What happened? I don't understand," Wilf tried to calm Renata down, but the Time Lady was weeping.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor ran into the control room where Addams and Rossiter were still trying to make the necessary mends to get them home. He went straight for the comms and turned all communications back on. As soon as he did, everyone began to hear the four beats.

"What's _that_?" frowned Addams. What else could go wrong now!?

Rossiter checked the computer for the information. "Coming from Earth. It's on every single wavelength."

~ 0 ~

**Gallifrey.**

Renata was sitting on the ground over her knees, much too exhausted to keep crying and thrashing. Her sister had once again proved that she loved nobody, not even her own family.

"Contact! At last!" Rassilon exclaimed, making Renata raise her head. Everyone seemed content with the results, including the Assessor. She was smirking, like she had planned the whole thing.

Of course everything would turn out fine. _She_ had made sure of it, just like always.

Rassilon strode out of the room, prompting everyone else to do the same. The Assessor walked after the group but instead of leaving with them, she stopped beside her sister on the ground.

"You took one of the last things I had from Elek," Renata said, her voice strained from her sobs. She gazed ahead but at nothing in specific, she was just lost. "Ripped it right off me like it didn't matter…like he didn't matter."

The Assessor said nothing as she bent down in front of Renata. She put a finger underneath Renata's chin and turned her head to face each other. "Renata, it _didn't._ A Time Lady must do what is expected of her. You had the means to help our people and you did. You did your duty."

Renata seized the Assessor's finger under her chin and shoved it away. "This was not to _help_ our people," she snapped. "It was to save _you_ and the Council, to those in power."

"Our people," the Assessor said again, making it obvious that she didn't see anyone else below their class as part of their kind. "Cheer up, Renata. You still have the locket." She barely touched the golden pendant around Renata's neck. "I didn't take it all from you."

"Yeah you did," Renata whispered. "You took it _all_ away."

The Assessor's face went flat when she realized Renata wasn't talking just about the White Dwarf Star. "I _saved_ you," her voice was low, warning Renata not to try and argue _that_ matter with her again. "Because of me you had a life fit for your class. The Doctor would have ruined you."

"And now you're here, asking me to go back to him."

"And you will do it if we need to. Mother and Father raised you to always do whatever was asked of you. Never forget who you are, Renata," the Assessor straightened on her feet and ordered the Two Time Lords with her to make sure Renata did not move.

* * *

**Author's Note** :

The Assessor is, uh...sort of... _mean_? But at the same time she's kind of stupid for not seeing that Renata is going to double cross her in the end. (Go Ren, scam them!). Also, the next chapter is the LAST chapter of this story *sniff* I'm kind of sad about that. I've had this story for a long time now .

**Random** but since it's Halloween, and I frikin love Halloween, feel free to drop suggestions for any halloween one shots with Avalon!

**P.S** As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	32. And That's the Beginning and End of Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final face-off between Renata and the Assessor begins in the middle of the final battle between her, the Doctor and the Time Lords. Who will survive? And what will the sisters do to each other?

_'I love her, and that's the beginning and end of everything.' - F. Scott Fitzgerald._

~ 0 ~

**Present Day.**

The Doctor worked truly hard on the Vinvocci equipment to get them back to Earth. There was a new incentive and it was a huge one!

"But you said your people were dead, past tense," Wilf was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that these Time Lords were no longer dead. Five minutes ago they had been. What changed?

"Inside the Time War, when the whole War was time-locked — like sealed inside a bubble. It's not a bubble but think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the time-lock. Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there."

"And that was the signal. The Master has been hearing it since he was a child because that's what the High Council did." Renata was doing her best not to get distracted while fixing the wires in front of her. She was still trying to process everything she had remembered. The Assessor and the Council...everything they did. How could she forget that? Well, she had a pretty good idea. She had regenerated into her last incarnation only hours after the Assessor had taken the Whitepoint Star from her. It was a traumatizing war, a terrible death — she had pushed it all away to start anew. She sealed everything away except for the deal she made with the Assessor. That's all that survived with her."

"If they can follow the signal, they can escape, before they die," the Doctor said in a quick-paced tone.

"And that's not good?" Wilf assumed by their terrified faces.

"Not the Time Lords at the end of the War," the Doctor shook his head. "It changed them completely, right to the core."

"My own sister became even more heartless than before," Renata's hands stopped working again. "She stole my necklace to use it for the High Council's needs. She had no regard for my pain."

"I am going to need you both to start explaining what the hell you're talking about!" Addams strode up to the pair with no intention of letting them go. "You killed our ship and now you want to fix it to go back there!?"

"Just shut up and listen!" snapped the Doctor in a loud volume, startling Addams. "Right, you! This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"So, you've got asteroid lasers!"

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," Rossiter reminded them with a pointed look on Renata, only now the Time Lady wasn't concerned with the ship. She was too deep in her thoughts.

"Consider them unfrazzled." The Doctor flipped a lever and made two doors on opposite sides of the room slide right open. "You there - I'm going to need you on navigation." He nodded at Addams then moved onto Rossiter. "And you, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred?"

"Yeah?"

"Laser number two. The old soldier's got one more battle!"

"Right!"

"But this ship can't move. It's dead!" Addams reminded them, but the Doctor had taken care of that as well.

"Fix the heating!" he pushed two large levers on either side of the control panel, starting the ship back up.

Addams still didn't look too pleased. "...now they can see us," she pointed out, folding her arms.

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor turned away and grabbed Renata's hand, pulling her away from the controls. He settled down for her, for that moment. "We're going to get that back, okay? That Whitepoint Star? You're getting it back, I promise."

Renata met his gaze and raised an eyebrow at him. "You would fight for it?" She let the doubt cover each of her words. Why would he fight for a necklace that her husband gave her? If what he said about her was true, wouldn't he be overly jealous about the jewel?

"Because it's important to you," the Doctor answered both her out-loud question and her silent question. He wiped a few tears off her face with his thumbs. "And a good man gave it to you." He never even met Elek but he knew - from the very start - that he had been nothing but kind to Renata. He had cherished her and loved her each day of his lives. He'd done what the Doctor wished he could've, and he would never harbor any resentment towards the man. If anything, he owed Elek for messing up the beginning of his relationship with Renata. If it hadn't been for him, perhaps Renata could've truly loved Elek.

"This is my ship!" Addams exclaimed, pulling the Doctor back to the present. "You're not moving it. Step away from the wheel!"

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain, A phrase of great power, and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need," the Doctor began, straight serious that even for a second there, Renata was curious what old quote he knew.

"What's that, then?" Addams asked.

"Allons-y!"

Renata's face went flat. "Oh _you_ —" But the ship lurched forwards, ending whatever she was going to say.

His piloting skills were _really_ questionable. It apparently didn't matter if it was a TARDIS or a ship — he just wasn't the best pilot. The others practically screamed as the ship took a harder pace as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

"You are blinkin', flippin' mad!" Addams gripped onto a railing, letting her scream echo throughout the room.

The Doctor ignored her and called to Rossiter and Wilf to go into the laser pods just like he told them once. "We've got to fight off the entire planet!"

"How does this thing work!?" Wilf called from his pod. Everything was all fancy, nothing like in his time.

"The tracking's automatic. Just deploy the trigger on the joystick!" Rossiter explained from his own pod.

"Doctor, we've got incoming!" Renata managed to put herself in front of a computer without falling.

"You two, open fire!" the Doctor called to the pods. They were just getting the hang of the controls but they needed to act fast before the missiles struck them.

It seemed like Rossiter got it first. He gave quite a war scream as he took out the first missile.

Wilf soon got the hang of it and took care of the second and third missile. "Ha, ha! Oh, I wish Donna could see me now!" She would've had the laugh of her life seeing her old gramps in a space battle.

Addams had found her way to the computers beside Renata and was appalled to see the missiles doubling in numbers. "There's 16! And then another 16 of them!" They were going to die alright.

"Go to the rear-gun lasers!" ordered the Doctor.

"Show me where!" Renata told the Vinvocci urgently.

Of course with the Doctor's attempts to evade the missiles, the flying ship would send both women back and forth before they could actually reach their intended location. It was impossible when the ship actually spun. But at least they got all the missiles down and the only casualty was the front window being blown away.

"Lock the navigation!" the Doctor instructed afterwards. "To England! The Naismith mansion!"

Addams inwardly groaned but did as told. Renata struggled to make her world stop spinning after such a terrible flight, but eventually she found the Doctor's arm to keep her steady.

" _How_ are we landing, exactly?" She sent him a sharp look. His mind had suddenly stopped being so open to hers. The ship neared the England ocean, Addams warning them they were getting lower and lower. "Doctor?" Renata asked again, her grip on his arm becoming tighter as the Time Lord refused to answer.

"Doctor!" Wilf came rushing into the room after getting out of his pod, along with Rossiter. "Doctor, you said you were going to die!"

"He said _what!?"_ Addams gawked and immediately shot the Doctor a warning look. She was _not_ going to become part of whatever plan that man had.

"But is that all of us?" asked Wilf. "I won't stop you, sir, but is this it?"

"Absolutely not!" Addams screamed her head off since nobody was listening to her.

Renata, on the other hand, was the opposite. She did not scream, she did not scowl, not even frown. She only stared at the Doctor. "What are you planning?" Her tone was dangerously low, though. It was that type of scary anger where a scream wouldn't cover it.

His mind had been completely shut from her now.

The Doctor was grim but just for her, he would let it go for one moment. "I do love you, Renee. And I won't let you die for me." He pulled his gaze away from hers, as if that would make him braver. He bent down to the ground, right over the hatch.

"I don't know what you're planning but you are not leaving me behind," Renata warned him, watching him try to lift the hatch. "I'm done with that. You're not getting rid of me this time." She was determined to show him that this incarnation was different from her previous ones. She may not know where she stood with him in regards to an actual relationship, but she knew that where he was she wanted to be too. They were a team, albeit an unorthodox one, but a team. In fact, she didn't think she ever felt such a determination.

She didn't even notice the golden wisps of energy briefly emanating from her fingertips.

The Doctor held Wilf's gun tightly in one hand. He raised his head to see Renata staring down at him. "Not you," he tried to say but Renata bent down next to him, letting them be face to face.

"Only me," she corrected. "Because only I will fight for you the way you deserve it. It's not just you anymore, it's _me_ too. If they are back then I want a word with them." Her eyes flickered to the revolver in his hand. She wasn't sure how to feel about that but she supposed once they stood in front of... _them_ , she would know. So, she seized the Doctor's free hand and cracked a smile, almost a smirk. And then, just like that, she threw herself down the ship first but with their connected hands the Doctor was right beside her. They fell down the long way, crashing through the glass dome of the Naismith mansion. Each shard that penetrated their skin was painful enough, but then came the solid smack of the ground.

Rassilon was mildly impressed with the entrance, but nothing would beat theirs. He looked over his shoulder where a few of the Council had gathered with him, along with the two who dared to object to their plan of salvation.

"My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end," he said once he returned his attention to the trio.

The Doctor grunted as he peeled himself off the floor. He tried taking the revolver off the floor as well but he only managed to briefly aim it at Rassilon before dropping it again. His entire body was aching and he doubted that this time he would be able to heal from it. He glanced to his left and saw Renata more or less groaning the same.

"Renata," he tried to help her but his arms were too weak to help anyone, even himself. "Renata!"

" _What_ did you say?" demanded a sharp voice behind Rassilon.

Renata scrunched her face — her face that now _hurt_ — but she ultimately picked herself up better than the Doctor. It was when she was on her feet that she finally saw what was around them. She stopped completely at the sight of the Assessor. Of course her sister wouldn't recognize her, _yet._ The Assessor was too focused on the Doctor beside Renata. Just like those centuries ago, her eyes still held the same hatred.

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child," Rassilon went on, speaking primarily to the Master standing only a few feet from the pair.

"Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realize what he's doing?" the Doctor struggled to speak without feeling the echoes of pain inside his chest. Renata helped him stand up but she had to keep a grip around him for a few minutes.

"Hey, no, hey! That's mine! Hush!" snapped the Master as he moved around the room."Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mr President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me!"

The threat made no effect on any Time Lord. The Assessor let out a small noise akin to condescension.

Rassilon held out his gauntlet-covered hand and with one glow of it, the humans all returned to normal. The Master was mortified to see his grand plan stripped from him like that, so easily like it never even happened.

"No, don't...! No, no, no, stop it! No, no! No, no! Don't!"

"On your knees, mankind," demanded Rassilon and since all the humans there had the sense to be afraid, they knelt without protest.

The Master took in a deep breath as he tried to see he wasn't completely lost. "No, that's fine, that's good, because you said salvation. I still saved you, don't forget that."

"Oh, they never cared," Renata groaned with exasperation. She looked over her shoulder to the man. "Don't you get it? The High Council never cared. _They_ are responsible for that noise in your head. I saw them throw my Whitepont Star just to establish the link that would save them."

"What did you say?" the Assessor once again demanded, this time her eyes narrowing on Renata. "How could you possibly know that?"

Renata whipped her head to meet her sister's gaze. Unlike the last time she saw the Assessor, she wasn't afraid. She didn't fear her sister anymore. After everything that she'd gone through recently, the Assessor was no one to have fear for. "I was wrong, you didn't take everything away from me…" the Assessor's eyes were beginning to widen, "You forced my hand and I stupidly played into it. You're _not_ going to do the same again to me. _CeCe_."

The Assessor was rightfully stunned. Her dark eyes scrutinized the black haired woman from head to toe. The clothes were far to vulgar to be that of a Time Lady but then again only her sister would call her that wretched nickname. "... _Renata_?" Renata raised her head high, just like she was accustomed to. It was her place, after all. That's what the Assessor always said. "How...how are you…?"

"I tricked you," Renata said with no attempt to hide her smirk. "Because in the end, CeCe, _I_ tricked you."

Though her words were brief, it was enough to send the Assessor into a whole new level of rage. "What do you me—" But before she could finish the question, a violent rumbling rocked them all on their feet. A bright light lit up from the windows.

"What's going on!?" the Master scowled.

"Something is returning. Don't you ever listen?" the Doctor was just as exasperated. "That was the prophecy. Not someone, _something."_

"What is it?"

"They're not just bringing back the species. It's Gallifrey. Right here, right now!"

Because now the Gallifrey as a whole was coming, intending on knocking Earth out of its own orbit to take its place.

The Master was beyond shocked that he'd been played like _that_. "But I.. _.I_ did this. I get the credit!" he started scowling again as he looked at the Time Lords. "I'm on your side!"

"You're on their side because they _wanted_ it to be so!" snapped Renata. "They're manipulators," she said directly at her sister. "No regard for anyone else but their own skin. Such a shame that _you're_ what's left."

The Assessor's face grew red as a tomato from the anger. "You will _not_ speak to me like that!"

"What are you going to do!? You already took everything! There's nothing left to dangle in front of me anymore!" Renata's humorless laughter only made her sister infuriate more. "You have finally met a version of me that you can't control. It must _burn_."

Chaos was ensuing all over the room. The humans were terrified of the intruding alien planet coming for theirs so they ran out. Wilf made it inside but before he could reach the Doctor or Renata, he found his way towards the technician booths where one employee was desperately banging against the glass doors to be let out. The Doctor could barely move as it was, and he didn't know who to go to. The Master? Wilf who was now locked in one of the booths? Or the two sisters in a standoff? Or the mastermind behind everything, Rassilon?

"But this is fantastic, isn't it?" the Master rose from the ground, ignoring the Doctor's glare. He still wasn't getting it!? Amazing. "The Time Lords restored."

"You weren't there in the final days of the War!" the Doctor cut in before he made any other assumptions. "You never saw what was born. But if the time-lock's broken, then everything's coming through, not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres, the War turning to hell. And that's what you opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending!"

It wasn't admittedly what he had in mind but the Master would take it if it meant victorious. "My kind of world."

"Just listen! 'Cause even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

"We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand," Rassilon confirmed. "The rupture will continue, until it rips the Time Vortex apart."

"That's suicide," the Master said.

Even the Assessor had paused for a moment to evaluate the implications. "My Lord…"

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone, free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."

"Was that...was that the final plan?" Renata was truly horrified to hear that, much more to know that her sister was in on such a plan. "CeCe…"

The Assessor faltered. Her eyes flickered to Renata, letting her see for one moment a scared woman. "I...I didn't know the extension of the plan but…" She took in a breath, one that was hard too from what Renata saw, "...if it our Lord President's decision then...we will follow."

"No," Renata shook her head, utterly disgusted.

"This is what made me do it," the Doctor told her quietly. "I knew what they were planning and I had to stop them."

Renata's eyes watered up. "Oh CeCe...how far you've gone…"

"We do what we must to survive," the Assessor said with her head held high. "I always do what I must, something you clearly—" Her eyes hardened on the Doctor, "—will never get. You say you tricked me, Renata, and for what? For _him_? The man who, as much as he tries, will _never_ be good enough for you." She took a heavy pleasure watching the Doctor react to her words. Even centuries later, it still hurt him to know the truth.

"He was always good for me," Renata's voice was soft and honest when she looked at the Doctor. "I was trapped and for one moment — one small moment in my life — he made me happy." Her mind then opened up to show the Doctor those precious memories of theirs back on Gallifrey. They were running down hallways, sneaking around to see something they shouldn't but something that always brought out her laughter. They bantered and bickered about the oddest of things and even when the Doctor clearly won — from his vast well of knowledge — he never belittled her like the Assessor would. He would explain and show her what he meant. Their hugs, their hand-holding, their kisses — they were all treasured memories.

The Doctor saw them all one by one and felt the stinging of tears pricking his eyes. They were his best memories too. He brought a hand over Renata's cheek. "I was only happy there too," he nodded.

The Assessor audibly growled at the pair, completely outraged that her words were no longer holding the effect they always did. "Let go of her!" she yelled.

The Doctor did but only to sent a dark glare in her direction. " _You_ hurt her."

"And you didn't?" she almost laughed in his face.

"I did and I will always regret it," the Doctor swallowed hard. "But I will always try to make up for it, if she allows it..." He glanced at Renata with nothing but hope that she really would let him try at least.

"Enough of this!" the Master pushed them apart to get up front. "Let me ascend into glory." He knelt down in front of Rassilon with his arms outstretched.

"You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making. No more," Rassilon didn't look at him twice. He let his gauntlet do the talking. Energy started springing from it but before it reached out to the Master, a revolver clicking took the moment away.

The Doctor had found his strength to aim it right at the President.

Rassilon seemed amused but he would humor the Doctor by making a well pointed out difference. "Choose your enemy well. We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President. Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours!" the Master jumped on the boat that would save his skin. However, the Doctor turned the gun on him now. "Oh! He's to blame, not me! Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back. You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it."

Renata's head changed each time the aim did. She didn't know what to do, how to help, but she just wanted to do _something_.

"I told you that he would ruin you," the Assessor spoke from her spot, raising her head as she smirked proudly. Once again, she'd been right. "He could never be on our level."

Renata closed her eyes as a new wave of fury rippled through her. The Assessor would never be able to change her tune. There were always these small moments where the Assessor would do something that would make Renata believe that perhaps her sister wasn't all bad. But maybe it was just a fact. It wasn't the Council's fault that her sister was the way she was.

The golden energy once again sparked from her fingers but this time the Assessor noticed it, although she wasn't sure what it was.

"The final act of your life is murder. But which one of us?" Rassilon taunted the Doctor as the Time Lord once again switched aims to hold it at the Master.

Behind Rassilon, however, there was a woman who'd been covering her face and the Doctor noticed her lowering her hands. He blinked twice to make sure he was seeing right. He couldn't...he couldn't quite remember but…

A bubbling feeling took place in his chest, like a wave of serenity coming to aid him. The Doctor watched the woman's eyes flicker to something on their side. With the gun being pointed at him for so long, the Master was beginning to realize that this was truly the end for him. He locked eyes with the Doctor, almost accepting that he'd lost all over again.

"Get out of the way," the Doctor suddenly ordered.

A grin broke across the Master's face. He dove out of the way and gave the Doctor the opportunity to shoot the device holding the Whitepoint Star. Once shot, the link went dead.

"The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell!" he cried with just a hint of a smirk.

"You'll die with me, Doctor!" warned Rassilon.

"I know," the Doctor let the revolver drop to the floor. This was where he met his end as well.

But Rassilon never made a move. The Master did. "Get out of the way!" he told the Doctor and Renata. "You did this to me!" He started firing electric bolts at Rassilon. The President staggered backwards with each blow. The Assessor quickly dove out of the way before she was caught in the crossfire. "All of my life! You made me! One! Two! Three! FOUR!" He gave the last powerful blow but he'd gotten too close to the link as well and was pulled in with it.

And so the link started pulling everything else.

"You blundering idiots!" the Assessor lost her entire cool facade as she fled from the link's grip. "We have the right to survive! We are Time Lords!" She stormed directly towards Renata and grabbed her by the shoulders, shoving the Doctor away. "And _you!_ You had a _duty_! I always did everything right and I always made sure that _you_ did everything right!" Renata allowed her sister to continue shaking her like a rag doll, but inside something was burning. _Literally._ "But you were always the odd one! Of course it had to be you! You-you had to go and fall in love with the likes of him! That — it was the beginning of everything! If you had never met the Doctor, then you would've done your job as a Time Lady!"

"LET ME GO!" Renata seized her sister's arms, squeezing them with a golden energy wrapping around them. The Assessor's eyes widened when she saw the same energy swirling inside her sister's eyes. "You're right, meeting the Doctor was the start of it all. It was the beginning of everything and it should have had a much different ending! A better one! But _you_ took care of that! You made sure that I was as miserable as you! Elek never deserved me because I couldn't love him the right way. But you know what? I am so _done_ with you Cece. I dare to think that even while I was out there, fighting our war, you considered me dead. I was never going to be your sister, no matter what I did for you. Because all you ever cared about was appearances and the High Council. So..." Renata felt a terrible pang across her chest knowing what she would have to do. "You want to die for their cause? Then go right ahead, but I refuse to follow you any longer. Serve your people like you always did. Till the end."

The Assessor tried shaking out of Renata's death grip. The energy around her was burning like fires from the war and it only seemed to be getting stronger. "What...what _are_ you?" Her voice trembled with fear as she watched the energy dance around her sister's body.

"I don't know," Renata answered honestly while the golden energy spread behind her back, flapping like a butterfly. The Assessor soon recalled the Visionary's scroll. The Time Vortex and a butterfly. The Vortex Butterfly. "I love you Cece but it's time to say goodbye."

The Assessor's eyes widened one last time before Renata pushed her away with her newfound energy. The Assessor was the last thing to go into the pull before everything was shut off.

"Renata!" the Doctor tried reaching her but Renata screamed as she once again expelled golden energy. He was thrown back, hitting the side of a machine with a thud.

Unlike the other times where Renata would collapse from expelling energy, it gathered behind her back again and fluttered brilliantly like a golden butterfly. Renata sucked in a deep breath and tilted her head back, her arms stretching outwards. She could feel the energy moving with her, not _against_ her this time. It was becoming a _part_ of her, solidifying as her regeneration finally stabilized.

Far, far away one Gabby Gonzalez felt the echoes of the Time Vortex alerting her that Renata would be just fine.

When the golden energy died down, Renata was left standing but she appeared to be hazed for a moment. She raised her left hand, turning her palm over and smiled when a small butterfly formed above it.

"Ren…?"

Renata turned her head to see the Doctor struggling to get off the ground on his own. "Doctor!" she dashed to help him. "Oh, look at you!" She cupped his battered face.

"It's okay, I'm still alive. You're alive," he laughed shakily, prompting her to do the same.

"Yes, yes, we are," she agreed and kissed his nose. "I'm sorry what she said — the Assessor. She's going back and she's going to offer me the deal, and I'm going to say yes because she betrayed me. I'm a terrible person." She could remember perfectly now the way her deal was granted. They would offer the new cycle as a last hope that she would take the Moment from the Doctor, but Renata had seen what they nearly did. Her sister had stolen from her without a second though. She would betray them because they betrayed her.

"It's okay," the Doctor wound an arm around her neck, bunching some of her hair as he brought her closer to him, resting their foreheads against each other's. "It's okay, you never have to apologize for that."

But just as they relished in their victory, in their moments, they heard four knocks against glass. Renata flinched against the Doctor's forehead while the Doctor himself froze. The four knocks went again and this time they turned to see where it came from. Wilf was knocking against the glass of the booth he was in. He'd let the technician go without realizing what would come out of it.

"They've gone, then? Good-oh. If you could let me out...?" he smiled meekly.

The Doctor swallowed hard as he pushed himself up. "Yeah…"

Renata couldn't stand right then.

"Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise," Wilf pointed behind him to the whirring control panel behind him.

"The Master...left the nuclear bolt running. It's gone into overload."

"And that's bad, is it?"

"No...'cause all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All 500,000 rads, about to flood that thing."

"Oh! Well, you'd better let me out, then!"

"It's not that easy," Renata scrunched her face to keep herself from crying. She forced herself to stand up and turn around. "It's gone critical. Touch one control and it floods. Even our sonics would set it off."

"...I'm sorry," Wilf said once he realized what it meant. All this time he'd been so worried that the Master would kill them and it turned out to be him. "Look, just leave me."

"Okay, right then, I will," the Doctor said as if he would really do it. As _if._ "Cause you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh, yes! 'Cause that's who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me all this time!" He was related to Donna Noble, of course her convergence wouldn't end with just her. It had to extend to her grandfather and yet the Doctor wouldn't leave him there. He couldn't.

"No, really, just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time."

"Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more!" the Doctor yelled at the ceiling and turned away in deep fury. "So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!" He swiped an entire desk clear but stopped when he caught himself, when he caught his words.

Was he really throwing a child's tantrum? Acting like a God who fought to stay alive even when his time was clearly up? That's exactly what he did on Mars. _It keeps happening_ , he realized. This life...he'd lived it too long, so long and most of the time it had been heartbreak after heartbreak that it finally _got_ to him. He let it get to him.

"I've lived too long," he concluded out lout and turned back towards Wilf. "I played the game of Life and I went down a path that I shouldn't have. I'm not God, I never should have tried to be one. This _is_ my punishment, a lesson."

"Doctor, it's not," Renata said sadly. "You know what? Let me do it."

The Doctor humorlessly laughed. "You died once when I promised you that I would be there for you—"

"But you were!" she blurted, no longer caring what it would do to the future. "You were there, Doctor! Just...just not this you!" The Doctor only paused so that she could explain herself better. "You promised me that you would come back and you _did._ Another you did. A...future you. He came and he was with me when I died. He was there, telling me that I was going to be okay. He made my last moment peaceful and-and I don't want you to die now."

"I was there?" the Doctor asked, his eyes tearing up but this time with relief. "I was truly there?"

Renata nodded her head, tearing up herself. "Yes. You carried me out to my garden and you stayed with me until the end. So you see? This isn't a punishment."

"No, but it is where I have to go," he decided. "Because I need to be that man who can keep his promises to you."

"No, Doctor—"

"I _want_ to be that man." He started towards the booth, forcing himself to keep his eyes locked ahead and not on the distraught Renata behind him. Despite Wilf's own protests, he opened the second booth door and stepped in. "Wilfred...it's my honour. Better be quick. Three, two, one." He pressed the button to release Wilf and once he was out, the radiation flooded his own booth.

"Doctor!" Renata ran towards the booth but it was far too late. He was being engulfed by the radiation. She was forced to watch him fall to the ground, curling up in true pain. Those few minutes felt like a lifetime for her.

But then, slowly, the Doctor regained his balance and was able to come out. Wilf was so confused but he still waved a hand. "Hello?"

"...hi," the Doctor stopped to help Renata stand on her feet. She'd fallen with him on the other side of the glass.

"Still with us?" Wilf asked again.

"The system's dead. I absorbed it all. Whole thing's kaput."

"There we are then, safe and sound. Mind you, you're in hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there."

Renata looked up at him as he covered his face with his hands, the next time he lowered them his injuries were completely healed.

Wilf was stunned. "But they've...your face! How did you do that?"

The Doctor stared at his hands. "It's started…"

Renata threw her arms around him, sniffling to herself but she promised at the same time that now she would be with him, just like he had been for her.

_Do you mind one last round?_ The Doctor was looking at her with a resigned smile. She had no idea what he meant but she nodded her head fervently.

~ 0 ~

Sylvia Noble was right outside the house when the TARDIS materialized across the street and to their wonder, she was smiling.

"Hm, didn't know she did that," Renata remarked, actually making the Doctor and Wilf laugh beside her. She blinked after a moment when something hit her. "That was rude, wasn't it?"

The Doctor would let her ponder on that for a while. He turned to Wilf with a genuine smile. "Don't go thinking this is goodbye, Wilf. We'll see you again, one more time."

"What do you mean?" the man frowned. "When's that?"

"Just keep looking. We'll be there."

"Where are you going?"

"To get my reward." The Doctor reached for Renata's arm and gently tugged her into the TARDIS. They had a few stops to make after all.

~ 0 ~

Martha Jones ran as fast as she could down a paved area, but the rifle in her arms was a bit heavier than she thought it'd be. Finally, she ran up behind a concrete wall where her husband, Mickey Smith, was hiding at. He was appalled to see her there.

"I told you to stay behind!"

"You looked like you needed help. Besides, you're the one who persuaded me to go freelance!" she reminded him, leaving no chance of an argument there.

"Yeah, but we're being fired at by a Sontaran. A dumpling with a gun. And this is no place for a married woman!

Martha rolled her eyes. "Well, then. You shouldn't have married me!" But if he agreed with that, she'd kill him on the spot and he knew it.

Suddenly, the very Sontaran they were looking for caught them from behind. He was about to fire when a mallet struck him from behind. The Doctor held the mallet and gazed at Martha and Mickey, nonethewisers yet about their near death experience.

"If we go in here and down to the factory floor and down past that corridor, then he won't know that we're here.." Mickey was busy reading off a map when Martha shook his arm and pointed to the Doctor and Renata behind them. "Hey!" Mickey grinned, even Martha but it faltered when they truly saw the pair's grim faces.

"Ren…?" Martha squinted her eyes at the black-haired woman. _She died_. Martha felt tears come to her eyes but then she noticed the even worse face the Doctor had on and knew that the story wasn't completely over yet. "Oh no…"

The Doctor offered them one small smile before taking Renata's hand and leaving with her.

~ 0 ~

They finally met Sarah Jane's son, Luke Smith, although the boy was a bit distracted. The Doctor barely saved him from getting ran over by a car.

"But it's you!" Luke blinked at the man in front of him. He forgot all about his cellphone call. "Doctor! Mum! Mum!"

The Doctor smiled at him too then headed back for the TARDIS.

Luke caught up with mother - after looking before crossing the street - and told her about the Doctor. Sarah Jane caught him by the TARDIS and saw the him waving, but she knew that look. She'd know it anywhere. She smiled sadly as well.

~ 0 ~

Captain Jack wearily sat at a bar counter. He was off in how own world until a bartender stopped by to give him a note. "From the man over there."

'His name is Alonso'.

Jack took the note then looked over to see the Doctor and Renata. The Doctor nodded over to the quiet man sitting across from Jack, the same Alonso from the space Titanic. Jack knew what it all meant, even more so when the Doctor gave him a salute with a finger to his forehead.

He was saying goodbye.

Jack raised his head and gave him a proper salute.

~ 0 ~

Renata was front and center getting "A Journal of Impossible Things" signed by Verity Newman. "Lost touch there," Renata chuckled as the author, the granddaughter of her old friend, Joan, signed her copy.

"Yeah, you did," Verity agreed with her own chuckle. "Even did the whole face thing you told us about." Renata had always talked about it, her face changing was a possibility but of course that wasn't quite believed.

"I brought a friend," Renata pulled the Doctor from the line.

"Oh, lovely," Verity smiled at him. "Shall I add onto your book, Renata?"

"Please," Renata fondly looked at the Doctor. "Your name?"

"The Doctor," he told the author, expecting her to do a double take. Verity froze and looked him over and when she couldn't quite finish believing it was the _same_ man, she checked for Renata's confirmation.

Renata gave the nod.

"Was she happy in the end?" the Doctor asked quietly. He knew from Renata's stories that Joan had lived a good life even after the whole mess he created, but he wanted to know from her own family too.

"Yes," Verity answered, smiling softly. "You and Renata changed her entire perspective of the world. It's why she traveled afterwards."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "Good."

~ 0 ~

Donna Noble had finally gotten married and was gleefully showing off her beautiful ring outside the church. And just as they were celebrating outside, Sylvia and Wilf noticed the Doctor around, along with Renata.

Wilf immediately set out for them. It had been months and he always wondered what happened to those two. "And here you are, same old face. Didn't I tell you you'd be all right? Oh! They've arrested Mr Naismith. It was on the news. Crimes undisclosed. And his daughter. Both of 'em, locked up."

"That's good to know," Renata nodded.

"I just wanted to give you this," the Doctor handed Wilf an envelope. "Wedding present. Thing is, I never carry money. So I just popped back in time, borrowed a quid off a really lovely man. Geoffrey Noble, his name was. "Have it," he said." Sylvia gasped with chills from hearing her husband practically gave their daughter her wedding present. " Have that on me."

"The one time we can bend the rules," Renata smiled proudly as she curled her arm around the Doctor's. "Donna deserves the entire world." She watched Donna have a laugh while the photographer took her picture.

The Doctor gave a final look at Donna as well. That was his best friend, and she would finally get a good ending, one that she did deserve. The pair started back for the console, only stopping to give Wilf and Sylvia a proper goodbye as well. Both sides were tearing up. It was impossible not to.

~ 0 ~

Gabby had stuck to her drawing from the moment Renata had left with that strange man claiming to be the Doctor. She had a feeling that he was being honest, but she just needed a bit more time to confirm for herself. Still, she knew Renata would never go off with a stranger and much less a stranger who had the same TARDIS (least that's what it looked like from outside). Her head had been a bit frantic for a few moments here and there that day.

Gabby clung to hope that they survived whatever they had fought on Earth. She kept remembering the little feeling she got last night. It was so strange because she'd been drawing like usual when there was a ping in her heart. A purple energy wafted from her fingertips, remnants of the Cosmic Butterfly. It was only for a few seconds before it calmed down and turned into a beautiful swirl of purple butterflies and she suddenly knew that Renata was fine. It was like a wave of peace that washed over her. It was for that reason that Gabby continued to wait for them to come back. She knew what she felt was real. They couldn't be dead. They just couldn't be. They had already lost Donna and Gabby didn't know what she would do if she lost Renata and the Doctor too.

With all those concerns and unanswered questions, Gabby set out to draw. She had a few doodles of Donna which she hoped would become the basis of her next statue. She was just finishing shading Donna's bright orange hair when she heard the TARDIS wheezing.

Gabby's face lit up. She dropped her pencil and ran out of her room. In only one minute, she had dashed out of the gallery altogether to see the blue box in the garden again.

"Oh thank God!" she laughed in delight as she ran up to the box. Renata and the Doctor were just coming out of it when she reached them. "You're back! You're back!" Gabby greeted each of them with a tight hug. "I was so worried about you two! I thought I might have to build myself a spaceship to get back to Earth and…" she trailed off when she finally took notice of their grim faces. They were identical.

Gabby stepped back from them. Something was churning in her stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"Gabby Gonzalez, the Cosmic Butterfly," the Doctor had a strange smile on his face but Gabby couldn't figure it out just yet. "My family. Thank you for taking care of Renée, for helping me...for being there with me."

"...you're saying goodbye," Gabby blinked. "You're-you're leaving me? Are you dropping me back to Earth?" The same fear that had crossed Donna's face before getting her memories wiped was now on Gabby's face. "Oh God, are you sending me back?"

"No, never," the Doctor stepped towards her, allowing her to see how strained of a step it had been. In fact, he seemed strained as a whole.

Gabby looked him up and down, forgetting all about her initial fear. "You're not okay," she realized. "You're hurt." She looked past him to Renata and now she could fully understand why the Time Lady was nearly crying. Gabby looked at the Doctor again, now understanding. "You're doing it, huh? Regenerate? It's about to happen."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. I had to say goodbye to all my friends and you are one of them."

"But-but isn't there something we can do? Maybe-maybe—"

"No, Gabby. My time is up," the Doctor shrugged. "And it's fine. I may have not lived the best life but it's a lesson. And when I'm good, I'm going to make sure that I don't repeat the same mistakes in my next incarnation. So, this is goodbye. Thank you, Gabby."

Gabby smiled with tears in her eyes. "Goodbye, Doctor. Thank you for picking me up and showing me the stars." She moved closer and hugged him tight. If she was feeling terrible she could only imagine what Renata was going through.

"Doctor," Renata gently called, breaking them apart. "There is one more place you have to go to. She deserves one too."

The Doctor didn't say anything but he didn't have to. She could read him even when his mind was still shut off from her.

Renata held a hand out for him to take and when he did, she directed a gaze on Gabby. "Now Gabriella, we'll be back for you afterwards."

Gabby nodded. "Of course, you...you take your time." They would of course want to be alone for the next part. "I'll be here waiting...and drawing…" She had a good idea of what she wanted to draw next anyways.

~0~

**January 2005.**

It was New Year's and everything was in full mode party. Only a few people were out of the loop and that only because they missed it.

"I'm late now, I've missed it!" Rose Tyler grumbled while keeping her arms tightly folded over her chest. It was freezing and trying to walk through snow was not the way to get warmer. "It's midnight. Mickey'll be calling me everything. This is your fault."

"No, it's not. It's Jimbo!" Jackie Tyler exclaimed, quite indignant all the fault was being placed on her. "He said he was going to give us a lift, then he said his axle broke. I can't help it."

The mother and daughter went back and forth bickering, until they remembered it was midnight and they had just started a whole new year. They couldn't argue right now.

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

"Don't stay out all night," Rose jokingly warned her mother afterwards.

"Try and stop me!" Jackie laughed as they split up. Jackie was going home and Rose was off to find Mickey...until she heard a quiet grunt of pain behind her.

Rose looked back and saw a pair of people, a man and woman, trying to stay above the snow. It looked like the man was struggling to stand on his own because the woman was practically holding him by the waist.

"You all right, mate?" she had to call out. Anyone else would've had the good sense to run away. It was WAS New Year's after all, all the crazies were out...but Rose didn't get that vibe from either of them. "Too much to drink?"

Renata quietly laughed to herself. The Doctor drinking? That would be a sight.

"Something like that," the Doctor said to skip any unnecessary dialogue. He only had minutes left and there was still something else he wanted to do after this.

"Maybe it's time you went home?" Rose suggested, figuring he wouldn't be able to make it down the block even with the woman's help.

"Yeah," the Doctor really tried not to put all his weight on Renata but his feet weren't responding the same way anymore.

Rose figured that they didn't need her help, or probably even want her help. The woman seemed to be just fine. They were close. "Anyway...Happy New Year."

"And you," the Doctor returned and watched her leave in the opposite way. "What year is this?" he called to her suddenly, curious where she was in the timeline. Renata had set the coordinates and he hadn't had a head to pay attention.

Rose stopped to look back and laughed. "Blimey, how much have you had?!" The Doctor merely shrugged, making her laugh again. "2005, January 1st."

"2005?" he repeated, eyes widened as they landed on Renata beside him.

She smiled innocently. She'd taken him here on purpose. She learned well where the Doctor met Rose and how could she not do this for him?

The Doctor leaned his head over hers, silently thanking her for giving him this last time. A few seconds later, he smiled at Rose nostalgically. She had no idea what was to come and his heart swelled for her. It was a lovely story despite its ending. But he wouldn't trade it, he would cherish it. That time was over for him, but not for her. "2005? Tell you what. I bet you're going to have a really great year."

Rose chuckled. "Yeah?" she could with some luck. "See yah!" she waved a hand then hurried off.

"Thank you," the Doctor told Renata as soon as Rose disappeared.

Renata smiled softly at him. "Of course. Now let's get you back to the TARDIS. Won't be good for any human to see us."

She turned them back for the TARDIS and little by little they were able to get closer. Upon making the turn where the box would be, they found Ood Sigma waiting for them.

"Can we help—" Renata was about to say when the Doctor yelped in pain. He nearly fell to the ground if she hadn't reacted fast to stop him. "Sorry."

The Doctor just smiled at her. She _would_ apologize.

"We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep," Ood-Sigma said as he watched the pair. They then heard the gentle tune of a choir singing. "This song is ending. But the story never ends."

"He's right," Renata helped the Doctor towards the TARDIS. "Think of it as a new chapter of your book."

The Doctor only smiled at her for those kind words. He felt a bit more at peace when he was finally inside the TARDIS. It's where he was born and where he would die.

Renata shut the door behind them and brought him up to the console. When she was sure he wouldn't fall, she started the box up. _A nice float in the sky might do some good_ , she thought. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the Doctor taking his coat off. Even that was a struggle. This particular regeneration would be a painful one due to what he'd gone through just before. Renata hoped that this wouldn't affect his next incarnation.

That's what happened to her in her previous incarnation, after all. Apart from the fact that she'd always been a bit reclusive, her last incarnation took it to the next level. She was burdened with secrets and fear because of what she'd gone through just before regenerating. The War, her sister, it moved on with her into her next incarnation. She didn't want the same thing to happen to the Doctor.

"Renata," the Doctor called to her, startling her out of her thoughts. Thinking he was losing his balance, she rushed round the console to meet him.

"I'm here, I'm here!" she assured him. He stopped her anxious hands from moving all around him. He grabbed them and held them tightly with his own. She met his gaze with confusion.

"I'm sorry," he began to say and already Renata was shaking her head. "I don't think I ever apologized for kidnapping you."

A light chuckle slipped through Renata's mouth. "Oh Doctor, you don't have to be guilty over that."

"I'm not guilty," he corrected, quieting her down with his seriousness. "I've never been guilty for kidnapping you. Truth is if I had to, I would do it again. I would steal you all over again."

Renata wanted to laugh but she also wanted to cry. So instead, something of a cross came out. "That's...that's a felony."

The Doctor was able to crack a smile. "And I've always been a thief. Anyone would try stealing you — you're _Renata_."

"You say that like it's supposed to mean something," she playfully rolled her eyes, but the tears clouded them. He was using up his last minutes to pay her compliments. "I'm just me."

"It _does_ mean something, because _you_ mean something to me." He brought one of his hands up to her cheek. "You always have and you know it. I really wish we hadn't done things the way we did. From the very beginning, I shouldn't have asked you to run with me. I should have stayed and fought for you, spoken to your family."

"It's not just on you," Renata smiled sadly. "I should've been braver. But I don't want you to think about those horrible thoughts right now. They shouldn't be the last things you think of."

"You're right, there's better things to think of. Happier ones." He stroked circles over her cheek. "Our adventures back then were pretty good, huh?"

Renata laughed softly. "Which ones? The ones where I would yell at you for nearly getting us caught? Or the ones where you would nearly get us caught?"

The Doctor put on a strained smile for her. Minutes were shortening. "Mm, it was the beginning of everything. Of _us."_

Renata sobered fast under his softened gaze. She knew he was in pain. His mind was still sealed off from her but she just knew. "The beginning of everything," she mused. "Yeah, I suppose it was."

The Doctor swallowed down a grunt of pain. He had to make this quick. And part of him was tired of beating around the bush, saying it with an unsure future. He was tired of that. He leaned closer to Renata and willed his words to come out in one go. "I love you, Renata. I've loved you for centuries and if I live for centuries more, you'll still be the one to own my hearts."

Renata once again smiled sadly. Her hearts jolted with the same thrill she would get in her first incarnation. Hearing him say it, to _mean_ it like that with so much intensity...nobody else was ever able to give her that same rush. Not even her husband. "I love you too," she whispered. She touched his arms on instinct when he lowered his head to hers.

It was the same story from the past. He would hover over her lips for an agonizing minute while he took in her face. For him, it was his way to admire the beautiful woman he was about to kiss. He loved remembering it each time; his own special treat.

He finally kissed her a moment later. He made it hard straight away, like he was trying to take as much as he could before some new man stepped into his place. Renata kept up with his speed and strength. It wasn't their first kiss like this, after all, and she secretly loved them. She loved the feeling of his lips fiercely pressing against hers, his arms pulling her impossibly close to him.

Eventually, the Doctor was forced to pull away. The pain was taking him this time and there was no stopping it. "I'm sorry," he held onto Renata for a bit longer. She was just watching him, knowing what was coming now. "I love you, _Gala_."

A small smile spread across her face. "I love you too, _Theta_."

His hearts swelled in that moment. She had rarely used his name in the past. Back then, she would remind him that they should only use their names if and when they were married, just like customs demanded. The fact she even told him her name was a miracle but a testament to how much she loved him.

The Doctor moved a few steps back. Minutes were seconds now. He gazed at his hands and saw the regeneration energy beginning to flow from his fingertips. He breathed in jaggedly. He took one last look at Renata, the woman tearing up knowing this was it, and he said: "I don't want to go."

Not a second after did the energy begin to emanate from his body. There was a brief glow around his head before it turned onto a full blast. Renata yelped as the force of it knocked her back. Even the poor TARDIS couldn't handle the burst of energy. A good part of the console caught on fire while the parts that didn't spark like it eventually would. Several of the beams collapsed and crumbled while the box lurched to each side in an attempt to put the fires out.

With the lurches, the Doctor even fell backwards. By the time his back hit the ground, he was a brand new man. He jerked upright with a yelp.

"Legs. I've still got legs, good!" he exclaimed, even kissing his knee for just being there. The regeneration was definitely a wonky one, he could just feel it! "Arms! Hands! Ooh, fingers, lots of fingers!" he wiggled said fingers in front of them to make sure they were all operational. "Ears, yes! Eyes, two!" He blinked particularly hard when one of his fingers nearly poked him. Probably not the best idea to touch his eyes in a ship that had no sense of flying. "Nose, I've had worse! Chin, blimey!" He'd need a proper mirror to examine that chin later on. "Hair - I'm a girl!" He fiercely ran his hands through his longer brunette hair but he calmed himself from the shock when he felt his Adam's apple. "No! No... I'm not a girl." He stopped everything when he pulled some of his hair in front of his eyes and saw the brown shade of it. "And still not ginger! And something else, something important, I'm, I'm... I'm…"

"CRASHING!" Renata's loud scream cut him off and nearly rivaled the TARDIS' own distressed hums. She had clambered back to the console and was frantically trying to control the box before it killed them both. "We're crashing you idiot!"

The new Doctor grinned despite already being insulted. It was a beginning alright, but perhaps things wouldn't be entirely new. Things would be changing, like a metamorphosis.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

To be continued in... **Metamorphosis**!

I don't think anyone figured out what the next title was going to be called but if you did, kudos to you! The next story is already on my profile if you'd like to check it out! Spoilers, you won't be seeing Gabby there until after Prisoner Zero but she WILL be a part of that story as well. I'm so excited to see her become the "alpha" companion because it's going to be super important in regards to her relationship with Amy, then Rory! And as for Ren and 11? They will be... _interesting_.

As for this story...the final stand-off between Ren and the Assessor was long overdue and I hope it was fitting. I even got the Doctor in there a bit too but I felt like it needed it to primarily be between the sisters. Ultimately, they both did wrong things (Renata scamming the Time Lords for a second regeneration cycle and the Assessor blackmailing her) but only Renata was able to admit it.

THANK YOU so much for all the reads/comments! I have truly loved writing this story so much and I'm happy (and sad) that I was able to finish it. I hope you continue on with me into the next story!

**Fun facts** of the story (I always like doing these at the end of the stories to let yall know what changed along the publishing process)

1\. This was, in fact, _not_ meant to be such a long story. I originally posted this as a one-shot to see how received it would be!

2\. Renata's name was originally going to be only Renée but since I couldn't decide between that and 'Renata' I went with both. I only realized after that both names are the same and that Renée was a nickname!

3\. Gabby wasn't originally going to be in the story. I learned about her when I started reading the comics and since I'm a sad Latina who is probably never going to see a Latinx companion on the series, Gabby is here to stay for a long while!

4\. The Assessor wasn't in my original drafts but I felt like she would be a good addition to the story (Ren probably disagrees with me there...). I haven't decided if I ever want to bring the Assessor back in future stories but it's not a 'no' ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"


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